The President's Daughter
by RockNRollN
Summary: Serena Bryant is the President's Daughter. She hates bodyguards and tries to rid of them. But when Darien steps in as her next bodyguard, will her plans run as smoothly?
1. The White House

A.N: Hi everyone! This is my second FF story! I'm pretty excited even though I'm not done with my first story yet… that one seems to be never-ending! Sheesh! But I've already got some ideas for this story so I thought I'd make a chapter to see what you all thought.

P.S: Sorry about the last name change! It would just fit better with this story. And no, I don't own Sailormoon.

**I've already received some complaints that there's a story that was similar to this one and that I need to have more 'original' ideas. Well this idea was original because I came up with it. My plot, my storyline, my ideas, and my imagination. I got a comment that said that there's a story like this on Fanfic between Seiya and Serena... but the thing is is that I wouldn't know that because I don't ever read Seiya and Serena. **

**I'm sorry ifyou don't like the plot, but I assure you it's not the same as any other writers because I come up with my own stuff, I don't cheat. I promise. **

**The comment just kind of upset me I guess. But if it begins to be too bothersome, I'll just delete this story and come up with another one. **

**Thanks.**

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Chapter 1: The White House

The Bryant's were a known face throughout the world. They were the infamous First family.

Ken Bryant had been thrown into campaigning and running for Presidential elections out of nowhere for the past year. The next thing he knew, him and his family were being moved into the White House, and all of the former President's problems fell into his hands. Ken had the 'likeability' factor about him. It was not that big of a surprise when he had won the election, beating Pete Sacks, landing him the Presidential title. His family was picture perfect. Ken was almost forty, but he was handsome and had an air of confidence about him that America was drawn too. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes. His wife, Irene, was a petite, pretty lady with a sweet face and sing-song voice. She charmed herself to everyone's heart with her genuine kindness and motherly affection. Ken's children were beautiful blonde-headed kids with the perfect smiles always plastered on their faces. They were always in good manner and respectful to everyone. Americans were drawn to this surreal looking family-- the kind of family that seemed to have _everything _within their grasp. Perfect.

Serena and Sam both knew this was not the case. They were far from being a perfect family.

Serena and Sam Bryant took the Presidential win the hardest. They were suddenly being forced to do photo shoots for magazines, and being interviewed by famous people, such as Diane Sawyer and even Oprah. It was hard for them to adjust to their newly won fame. Sure, everyone wants to be famous, but then again everyone overlooks the downside to it. No more privacy, no more time, no more nothing, but 'image'. That was what they had to worry about now, their image. One wrong move, one wrong word, and rumors would spread about the Bryant family, tainting their flawless record… tainting their 'image'. Serena and Sam had bodyguards now. When they were at school, only one would follow. Anywhere else and there'd be two with them, trailing not too far behind. The country had been on Red Alert for awhile now, due to war threats with North Korea. Terrorism still ignited the United States, so now, President Bryant hired a full-time bodyguard for his kids. Even offering them-

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"A room in the White House?" asked Darien Shields, looking both shocked and pleased at the same time.

Ah, Darien Shields. He had interned at the CIA since nineteen, and now at the age of twenty-three, he was one of the youngest and most respected CIA agents of the United States. He was tall, dark, and masculine with dark-blue mysterious eyes--Every girl's dream. When his father had been killed in a freak car accident, Darien stepped up to the plate to help provide for him and his mother. Darien's father was also a CIA agent; A very strong and admirable man. It was only natural that Darien became an agent as well; he just never expected to be one of the top ranked agents in so little time. And now, he was chosen to serve for the President himself! Hand-picked by _the_ President. _Not too shabby_, he thought as his mind spun.

A man, to whom Darien was speaking too, was sitting behind a large desk. He was somewhere in his forties. He was a short, stubby man with a large belly and a balding head-- otherwise known as Darien's boss, (and the President of the CIA) Henry Dale. He had a cigar stuck between his teeth as he nodded at Darien's question.

Darien grinned as he shook his head in disbelief. _The WHITE HOUSE!_ He thought happily. "You're shitting me," Darien pushed.

Henry frowned at Darien's choice of words, scratching is rough chin. "I am not 'shitting' anyone, Darien. President Bryant chose you to work for him."

Darien nodded, now looking serious. "Okay, so tell me what my assignment is."

Henry bit on his cigar, hesitating to tell him. " You're his bodyguard," he said with a raspy voice.

"No way! Bodyguard?" Darien asked, looking more astounded. _That takes a lot of trust, and he picked me!_ He thought cockily.

"For his daughter," Henry finished, glancing away from Darien's suddenly crestfallen face.

Darien was quiet for awhile, now frowning. "What?"

Henry sighed as he took the cigar out of his mouth. "You're hired as a bodyguard for his daughter, Serena Bryant. This is serious business, Darien. We're under Red Alert so the President is hiring you full time," Henry tried to persuade Darien.

_His daughter?_ Darien thought. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He had wanted to work directly for and under the President himself, not his daughter. That way, his rank would be bumped up some, giving him a broader field to work in. _Baby steps_, Darien thought. _Whatever it takes_. "Fine," Darien agreed after a moment of silence. "Maybe I'll eventually get to work with the President," he added.

Henry smiled, feeling extremely relieved. "Good. And I'm serious about this being serious, Darien. The President has fired countless agents because they kept leaving Ms. Bryant by herself, unattended," he warned. _Hah, more like she figured out a way to get them fired_, he thought inwardly. _Hopefully that won't happen to Darien._

Darien nodded furiously. "Don't worry, I am not going to let some girl ruin my career," he stated.

Henry gave a pleased smile and a nod of the head. "That's good to hear. Your plane leaves tomorrow at 7 a.m. Since we're not too far from Maryland, you should be there around 8 or nine at the latest," Henry informed.

CIA headquarters was in Langley, West Virginia, not too far from Washington D.C.

"Okay, thanks," Darien said as he retrieved the plane tickets from Henry.

Henry got up from his seat to lead Darien out of his room courteously. "You will be seen by the President in private. It's not a for sure thing yet that you'll get the job, he still wants to interview you,.."

Darien nodded and started out before Henry added," And Darien… watch out for the Bryant girl if you get the job. She will do anything possible to get herself out of your sight to have one minute of privacy. That one minute could cost you your entire career."

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Serena Bryant's gorgeous face dazzled audiences on television, magazines, and even billboards. Once the campaigning began, her and Sam had been whisked off to do endless amounts of photo shoots and interviews, because they were both attractive teenagers. Sam, at the age of sixteen, and Serena at the age of eighteen, were appealing to the younger generations, drawing in votes for her father.

Serena was a tall, blonde beauty. She had long, flowing golden locks that went beyond her bottom, almost mid-thigh. She was known for her perfect smile, her bright blue eyes, and her pig-tailed buns. She had long slender, toned legs to die for, and a laugh that was completely infectious. She was on almost every magazine cover now, labeled as," The President's Daughter." She was not JUST the First daughter, but she was now an icon—an idol. Her presence graced the television sometimes as interviewers asked her questions about her father and theirlifestyle. She'd have to reply with what her manager, Amy Anderson, told her and not what she wanted too by choice. She hated that. She hated being told what to do, what to say, how to dress, and how to act. She especially hated having a bodyguard. It was ridiculous! One could hardly have any privacy with a big guerilla of a man constantly trailing after you. Everywhere she went now, she was practically swarmed by fans. The only place that she could breathe and not be bothered _too_ much was at school. Though there were the occasional suck-ups and 'wanna-be-friends'. Serena had been popular before, hanging with the 'in' crowd, but now her popularity soared to new heights.

Her brother, Samuel Bryant, was no different. He was also blonde, but a darker shade of blonde, then Serena. He had unique turquoise eyes that entranced girls. He was quiet and shy, and immensely popular. He was tall and built, but his personality was gentle and kind. He drove girls insane. He also needed a bodyguard, constantly, wherever he went. He could be walking down the street without a single soul in sight, and then within a minute, there'd be fifty girls crowding around him, screaming his name and attacking him. His face also made many magazine covers. He sold well because he was handsome, charming, and unattainable.

Yes, the Bryant's, whether they wanted to or not, were famous.

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President Bryant stood lazily around his Oval office, staring at the infinite stack of contracts and forms. He gave a heavy sigh as he rubbed his aching temple thoroughly, trying to relieve any feel of stress he possibly could. After a long moment had passed, he put his hands down to pick up his glasses, and set them keenly on the tip of his nose as he went over the next pile of paper.

As he read everything, there was a knock on his door. He looked over the rim of his glasses expectantly. "Come in," he said loudly, shuffling his papers around so it'd be a little more organized.

His secretary, Joanne Miller, came striding in. She was a mildly attractive woman with short brown hair that bobbed as she walked. She was nicely dressed in a pink tailored suite. "Agent Darien Shields is here for the interview, Mr. President," she announced respectably.

Ken gave on nod and a quick flick of his wrist. "You may send him in. Thank you Joanne."

She nodded and strutted back out to send in Mr. Shields.

Darien was dressed in his usual suite. It was black jacket, with black trousers, black shoes, and a white tie. He looked extraordinary handsome in it. It formed to his body well. "Mr. President," he bowed courteously as he came in.

"Ah, Agent Shields," Ken greeted as he walked around his table to shake the young man's hand. "I'm so glad you could make it."

Darien smiled genuinely," I wouldn't have passed this up for the world, sir."

Ken laughed aloud. "Hah! Good answer," he winked as he went back around his desk to take a seat. "Please sit down. Make yourself comfortable. Oh, before we begin, would you like anything to drink?"

"No thank you, Mr. President, I'm fine," Darien huffed. He could not believe he was in front of _the_ President of the United States! His heart was pounding nervously as he took a seat in a leather chair in front of the 'big man'.

Ken nodded as he took out Darien's resume and placed it in front of him carefully to skim over it. "I was very impressed by your resume, Mr. Shields," he began as he peeked at Darien over his rimmed glasses. "You seem to have a very good work ethic, and you also seem very driven. That's what I like to see," Ken said as he took his glasses off and placed them neatly on his desk to look at Darien, looking strictly business now.

"Yes, sir," Darien answered, bowing his head quickly. "I actually got an internship when I was nineteen. I was very lucky."

Ken smiled and nodded again. "They only chose five internships every year out of the country and one's lucky to even make it past a whole year working there. But you've survived five and are now one of the top Agents," Ken said, looking quite impressed.

Darien suddenly felt as if his resume made him seem a little too conceited somehow. He cleared his throat. "Yes, sir. Like I said, I was lucky."

"Why are you so driven?" Ken asked as he leaned back into his chair, making him seem somewhat regal.

"Well, it's mainly because of my father and my mother. My father was also a CIA agent but he died in a car accident. I was twelve at the time and my mother was devastated, as was I, of course. So soon after the funeral I searched for a job and started working, my father being my drive and inspiration. I knew what I wanted to be and do. Once I have a goal set, I achieve it no matter what the circumstances," Darien explained honestly, thinking about his father. When he had told his mother he'd be working for the President, she was thrilled beyond all means. She threw her arms around her big son and congratulated him, tears falling down her cheeks as she whispered," Your father would have been so proud!"

Ken took in his words and nodded. "Your goal is to watch my daughter," Ken started, his eyes intense. " I want you to be able to guard her, but be invisible at the same time. If she wants privacy, give it to her. I don't mean leave her, I mean don't listen and block her out. She's eighteen right now and is one of her rebellious stages. She has done unthinkable things to be able to have her own privacy with her boyfriend, her friends, etc. You are never to leave her alone, not even if she walks into the ladies restroom. She's pulled one of those tricks before, trying to escape through the bathroom window. She is clever and conniving. She's also very persuasive and demanding. You let none of this get to your head. You follow her everywhere, but make sure she has enough space. This is not just any job, Mr. Shields. Not if my daughter's life rests in your hands," Ken finished, looking stern. Looking how a President should.

Darien tried not to look intimidated as he nodded. "Yes, sir. I won't let you down," Darien proclaimed.

Ken smiled. "I trust that you won't, Mr. Shields. I've warned you about her already. It's your turn to take the reigns. Hopefully you won't disappoint me like the last ten have," he said as he put his glasses back on, perching it on his nose.

_Ten? Is this girl a demon?_ Darien thought as he swallowed.

"Come," Ken said as he stood up, showing a hand to the door. "I'll show you where your room is, as well as hers. You stay with her until nine at night, in her room. She's being grounded right now for the last stunt she pulled. She tried to climb out of her window using a rope! The girl was hanging three stories above theground!" Ken said looking horrified. "So her punishment is having someone watch her until nine. I've gotten her something that I'd like to give her so I'm coming with." Ken glanced over towards Darien, seeing that Darien was looking a little pale, he added," She's a good girl, Darien. She just wants what every other teenager wants right now, and that is to be independent. I hope I didn't scare you by all those stories and warnings. She's sweet and very caring."

Darien just nodded as he walked alongside the President. They entered a gorgeous hallway with paintings of former President's that adorned the marbled walls.

As they walked, Darien asked," What did you get her, sir?"

"Oh," Ken said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "I got her a charm for her charm bracelet. She's hadthe bracelet since she was eleven and she's added all kinds of things on it. I got her this one of the White House," Ken smiled knowingly. "I had it specially made. There's actually a tracker on it so I know where she'll be at all times just in case. I'm telling you this through confidence that you won't say a word to her," Ken said as he looked at Darien.

Darien just nodded, his face looking very serious.

"And," Ken went on as they slowly came to a stop," I trust you will not, in any way, take advantage of my little girl."

Darien shook his head," No sir! I would never…"

"Good," Ken said with a smile. "We're here."

It took them a good ten minutes to finally reach her room.

Ken looked at the two large, white doors and knocked harshly.

"Who is it?" a sweet voice sang out.

"It's your father," Ken said with a smile as he heard footsteps bouncing towards the door.

There was a click, and one door swung open as a blonde girl jumped out and hugged her father.

Darien watched, transfixed. She was beautiful…. Breathtaking. As she pulled away from her father, she wore a pleasant smile on her face as she looked up at her dad lovingly. Her hair was in two buns, with long flowing hair sprouting out underneath it. She had vivid blue eyes and the loveliest laugh. She was wearing pink plaid pajama pants, with a white tank-top.

"Sweetheart," Ken said as he handed her a tiny box. "I got you something."

She squealed in delight as she opened it, her eyes going wide. "Dad! A charm," she yelled as she immediately took it off and clasped it to a bracelet around her wrist that was already decorated with at least eight other charms. " I love it," she said as she admired it, not paying the least attention to Darien at all.

Ken smiled as he watched her with twinkling eyes. "Oh," he said as he pulled Darien closer to him. "This is Agent Shields," Ken said as he introduced them to one another.

Her big blue gaze fell on his, and he was immediately drawn to her. "Hi," Darien said as he stuck out his hand.

Serena's eyes grew cold, knowing this was the new bodyguard. "Hello," she replied, glancing away as if she hadn't seen his offered handshake. She turned towards her dad again, looking angry. "Dad… I told you already! I don't need a freakin' babysitter! I'm eighteen," she wailed, her face flushing red.

Ken cooed her by patting her gently on her shoulder. Darien backed away a little to give them space. "I know, Serena. But you know what it's like right now and I am not going to take any risks. Sam's had his one bodyguard while you're already been through ten. Treat this one a little nicer, will you?" he asked. More of a demand then anything.

Serena just pouted and rolled her eyes. "Fine," she gave in, spinning around and prancing back into her room.

Darien felt like an object. _I'm right here_, he thought as he listened.

Once she was inside, Ken turned back towards Darien with a weak smile. He sighed as he began to walk again, making Darien tag along. "She's difficult, that one," he said with a grin. " Anyways, this is your room," Ken said as he pointed.

The room was a mere two doors down from Serena's!

"At night, we have security patrolling every corner," he stated, almost as a threat more then anything.

Darien nodded as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

There was a ring, and Ken reached into his pocket to retrive a cell phone. He looked at the blinking screen and started walking off. "You work starting, now. Good luck," and he walked away with a simple wave.


	2. Game Plan

**A.N: Thank you for the encouraging comments! I've decided that no matter how bad some comments might be, I'm going to keep writing. I've emailed the author of If You'll Be My Bodyguard, and she has also given me encouragement so there should be no problems anymore. : )**

**I know some of you are wondering why I'm updating this story faster then Getting to Know You, but it's because I'm finishing up that story right now. I'm trying to make it just right so there'd be no let downs so that's why the last chapter is taking a little longer then expected, but don't worry, it'll be posted up shortly. **

**Thank you! I hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

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Chapter 2: Game Plan

As Darien gaped at the President's disappearing form, he started to panic. _What am I going to do?_ he asked himself, looking at Serena's open door. He'd trained with the CIA's Secret Services before, but he hadn't expected to be working right now, at this very second. What was the correct working attire? What about his luggage and belongings? A million questions entered his mind, but he had to walk into the room before he got fired for leaving Serena unattended.

Darien's eyes grew wide when he entered Serena Bryant's room. It was huge! Almost as big as his entire apartment! The room had a Victorian feel to it, but it was decorated with modern furnishings. He saw pink objects everywhere; pink bedspread, pink couch, pink curtains, pink everything. Right beside the door was a built in bookshelf which displayed some of her childhood trophies, along with her most cherished presents. The first top two shelves were covered with books, but the rest was filled with trinkets and objects to fill in space. Though it looked cluttered, it was actually very organized and clean. To the right of her room was her king sized, fluffy bed. Her bed had four posts, to which a pink, see-through canopy hung above her bed, looking very princess-like. She had a desk with a MAC computer and her stereo system which was softly blaring some kind of music through it. Then there was a door, which Darien figured led into her large bathroom and walk-in closet. The ceiling was amazing. It was black with actual twinkling lights that made it look like stars. As Darien stared upwards, he saw one of the lights shoot across, exactly like how an actual shooting star would. The only thing that didn't seem real was the big chandelier fixture hanging down from the ceiling in the middle of the room. His eyes roamed around her room until it finally fell on her. She was sprawled out on the bed, her legs in the air as she lay on her stomach, reading a book and subconsciously twirling a strand of hair.

Darien just stepped aside and stood near the door, not knowing what else to do. _This is what I am supposed to do… isn't it?_ He thought as he stood still. _Be invisible_, he told himself

Serena moved her feet around above her, swinging it as she turned the page. She was so used to having someone watch her by now; she sometimes forgot there was someone with her. It had only been almost a year since she lived in this historical White House. As she read on, she giggled at something in the book and flopped over on her back, continuing the reading.

Darien watched her as she raised the book above her face and turned the page again. She didn't seem _that_ bad. He watched as the charm bracelet slowly slid down her wrist a little. Then he made a game out of trying to figure out what her charms actually were; There was a horse shoe, a clover, an 'S', the White House, a teddy bear, a crescent, a pink fairy, a key, and a castle. It took Darien about fifteen minutes to figure all of them out. Within those fifteen minutes, Serena still hadn't noticed his presence. Darien glanced at her alarm clock sitting on her night stand. It blinked 9:30 a.m. The day had just begun.

Serena suddenly shut her book and jumped out of bed. As she did so, she finally noticed Darien. She stood and looked at him with a blank expression for awhile before going into her bathroom and closing the door behind her.

Darien was wondering if he was supposed to follow her. The President told him to follow her into the restroom, didn't he? But that only counted in public, right? He began to panic again, walking towards the bathroom. When he got to the door and reached for the doorknob, Serena opened it, and screamed in surprise.

"Oh, shit!" she yelled afterwards, placing a hand on her beating heart as if to guard it. "You scared me," she said menacingly, walking around him to go grab a brush she had misplaced on her desk.

"I'm sorry," Darien apologized. She had frightened him also. He hadn't expected her to pull open the door so abruptly.

She grabbed the comb and started for her bathroom again. "You don't follow me into the bathroom here. Only in public places," she informed him, disappearing into the bathroom again.

Darien gave an exasperated sigh and took his place next to the entrance door again. _ I need a damn rule book_, he thought angrily.

Inside the bathroom, Serena was getting dressed for the day. Her bathroom looked like it belonged to some Hollywood actress. Her mirror was lined with bright round bulbs. Her make-up covered her sink counter, even though she didn't use much make-up. She had a lounge chair in the middle of her bathroom. Off to the side was a large glass shower, and right next to it was an enormous tub where Serena spent a lot of her time. Her walk-in closet was a long distance away from her shower, and it was huge. She had so many clothes, she often thought about donating it somewhere.

As she clicked on the light and looked around her closet for an outfit, her mind drifted to the new bodyguard. _Darien Shields_, she thought as she placed a finger on her chin. _How long will he last?_ _Surely it wouldn't be a mere five days like the last guy_ she thought as she smiled sneakily. She was an expert at firing bodyguards now. She had a way of playing it off innocently, like she wasn't the one at fault, but the bodyguard's. She'd manage to slip out of many bodyguards' view, getting them fired purposefully just so she could be without one for a couple of days until a new one would replace the last. She took pride in it. It had become somewhat of a game to her now. As she thought about a plan to get Darien fired, she remembered his gorgeous, sultry dark blue eyes. He was, by far, the youngest bodyguard she's ever had, not to mention the most handsome. He was muscular. It was easy to tell, even with all that layer of clothes he had on. _And his hair_, she thought as she pictured running her fingers through his thick black locks. _Wait a minute…_ what was she thinking? He was her enemy! She could not be fantasizing about indecent things when she had to come up with a plan to rid of him!

As she frowned about the sudden image that flashed through her head, she put on a pair of Capri jeans, and a vintage Beatles shirt. It was Saturday and she was planning on hanging out with her friends, Mina, Lita, and Raye. This was one of the only days she wasn't booked with some sort of interview, photo shoot, or social Presidential event.

She came back out and sat on her bed as she tied on her black converses, looking at Darien from the corner of her eyes. He was _definitely_ attractive.

As she tied on her shoe, there was a knock on the door beside Darien, and Sam popped his head in. "Morning, Sere," he said cheerfully, waltzing into her room with a grin on his face. He was bummed out this morning. Wearing pajama bottoms with some kind of old t-shirt.

"Morning, Sam," she greeted, smiling back. She loved her little brother and was actually very protective over him.

"Whatcha doin' today?" he asked as he plopped down next to her, making bed bounce. Sam was used to bodyguards also. Andrew Penn had been his bodyguard since day one, and they were actually friends. He got along with his bodyguard well, Serena, he knew, was a different story. Andrew was a very young bodyguard also, having luckily been chosen to intern for the CIA when he was around nineteen. Out of the madness of it all, he was selected by the President to bodyguard his son.

As Darien stood at the door, a blonde headed, blue-eyed male walked in and stood beside him, smiling at Darien with a mischievous grin. "Hey," he said as he stuck out his hand," I'm Andrew Penn, Sam's bodyguard."

Darien smiled back politely and shook Andrew's hand. "Hey. I'm Darien Shields, Serena's bodyguard."

Andrew nodded. "Yes, but how long?" Andrew asked.

"Until the President fires me," Darien shrugged as Andrew nodded again. Darien noticed that Andrew was dressed normally; jeans, a t-shirt and a blazer. "You're allowed to wear regular clothes?" Darien asked

Andrew smiled. "Yes. We try our hardest to 'blend in' and not try to direct attention to them," he said, gesturing a hand towards Serena and Sam who were deep in conversation right now.

Darien nodded. _All right! Street clothes it'll be. If I know where all my stuff is_.

"Why don't you go change? I'll watch them for awhile," Andrew offered.

Darien shook his head. "No, it's all right. I don't know where my stuff is. The President just hired me on the spot and I don't have any of my things."

"It's in your room. All of it," Andrew began," the President's already chosen you before you came. The whole 'interview' thing is an act to get to know you a little more is all."

Darien frowned, looking a little confused.

"Go ahead. You'll see when you get to your room. All your stuff, including the equipment, is in there, so hurry."

Darien was even more confused after the mention of equipments. "What equipment?"

"Were you trained?" Andrew asked, looking surprised. "You don't come with some form of protection and ear piece."

Darien nodded, pretending to understand now.

"Go, I'll watch them," he reassured.

Darien nodded and headed to his room.

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Darien's room was not as big and luxurious as Serena's was, but it was still amazingly beautiful. It was just like a suite.

His things were, indeed, all there. His luggage and bags were at the foot of his bed, and a plastic black suitcase lay on his bed. _Equipment_, Darien figured.

Darien quickly grabbed a plain white t-shirt, threw it on and put on a black blazer over it. He pulled on a pair of jeans, and opened up the equipment suitcase.

There was a bullet proof vest, a hand gun, ear piece, and small microphone pin. Darien took off his shirt and put the bullet proof vest on. It was just like wearing a shirt. It wasn't as uncomfortable as he thought it'd be. He put his clothes back on and stuck the ear piece in his ear, and pinned the microphone on his blazer The gun came with a belt holder, so he stuck that to the side of jeans, and covered it with his blazer jacket. _Note to self: buy more jackets or blazers_, he thought.

He ran back to Serena's room. Andrew was still guarding as he promised. Serena was showing Sam a book now, looking very serious.

"That's better," Andrew nodded as he stepped aside to look Darien up and down. "The bullet proof vest is new. It's nice isn't it? So light weight, almost like it's just another layer of clothes. NASA engineered it," Andrew said, bragging at his knowledge.

"Yeah, it's nice," Darien replied, looking interested. "How does the ear piece and microphone work?"

"Oh," Andrew began to explain," the microphone is on by a simple touch," he showed Darien by pressing on a Flag pin, nicely disguised as the microphone. "Like that. Off and on. If anybody needs to contact you, you'll hear a quick beep, shortly after someone will be talking to you through the ear peice. If that happens, the microphone is automatically turned on. But if you need to contact headquarters, you press and talk. Simple."

Darien's microphone was also a flag. _Technology these days,_ Darien thought, impressed. The ear piece was a nude color so it wouldn't be so obvious.

Sam finally got up and walked towards the door. "Hi," he greeted Darien quickly with a smile and a wave. He turned his head to look to see if Serena was watching. When he noticed she wasn't, he whispered," Best of luck to you," and walked out, Andrew following a few steps behind, smiling also as he vanished out the door.

Serena grabbed a messenger bag and started heading out the door. "All right, big shot," she addressed Darien," let's see how well you can keep up with me today."

Darien didn't say anything back, but just followed after her, keeping a ten pace distance between the two. She swerved around a corner and pressed a button to an elevator. _They have elevators in the White House_, Darien thought, smiling to himself.

Serena stepped in, and moved to the right side to make space for Darien. She pressed a button and turned to look at him, quirking up an eyebrow.

Darien pretended not to notice as he stared forward at the elevator door. He could see that she was still staring at him from the corner of his eye, so he asked," Do you have a staring problem?"

"How old are you?" Serena asked, as the elevator slowed to a stop.

Darien stepped out first and waited for her to walk ahead. "Old enough," he replied simply.

_He can't be any older then twenty-five_, she figured as she walked towards the White House's huge nook, joining her family for breakfast.

The nook was, of course, huge. The table was long, practically a dinette table. It could seat twelve people. To the side of the table were large windows that overlooked the back of the White House. The landscaping was absolutely breathtaking.

Darien saw the President seated at the end of the table, his wife to the right of him, and Sam to left of him. Serena walked over to her father and gave him a peck on the cheek, as well as her mother. She took a seat next to Sam.

Andrew was at the other end of the table, slathering butter on his toast, seated comfortably. There were three other people with Andrew, also seated. Darien guessed it was Irene and the President's bodyguards. Darien walked over and joined them for breakfast.

When Darien took a seat, the three unfamiliar faces looked at him, smiling knowingly. Darien didn't like people already thinking he'd fail before he even had a chance to prove himself.

Andrew put down his toast and started introducing everyone. "Darien," he said with a smile," This here is Joe Marsh, the President's bodyguard." Joe grinned and waved as he reached for a cup of orange juice. Joe was tall, and huge. He'd definitely be able to take a bullet. Joe seemed to be around his mid thirties. He had brown hair that seemed to be receding, and dark brown eyes. "This," Andrew continued, pointing his knife at a large man across from him," is Matt Lando, also bodyguard to the President." Matt grinned and rasped "hi" to Darien. He seemed also to be around thirty, almost forty. He had sandy blonde hair and green eyes. _Intimidating_, Darien thought as he smiled at the two large men. "And this," Andrew pointed to the last person," Is Jessica Biltman, the Fist lady's bodyguard." Jessica smiled sweetly and waved at Darien. She was a tall woman with a masculine build. She had strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes. She looked to be in her early thirties. Darien also noticed that all the bodyguard's were married, accept for Andrew; he was the only one who didn't wear a ring. "Everybody, this is Darien Shields," Andrew announced," Serena's bodyguard."

"Hi… everyone," Darien said sheepishly.

"Well," Matt scuffled," dig in! You're going to need breakfast if you're gonna be Miss Serena's bodyguard," he said with a booming voice, grinning.

Darien nodded, and reached for a bagel.

-----------------------

Serena Bryant rides in a limousine. A gorgeous white limousine. _I should have expected as much_, Darien thought smugly.

Darien sat in the front with the driver to give Serena privacy. When he got into the car, he heard a beep on his ear piece.

"Shields," said a male voice," Where is Liberty headed too?"

_Liberty?_ "I'm sorry," Darien said aloud, not understanding. "Who's Liberty?"

The driver looked over at Darien, raising an eyebrow. Even _he_ knew who Liberty was. "It's Miss Bryant," the driver informed.

Darien nodded a thanks. "Um…Liberty is headed to one of her friend's house," Darien spoke into the microphone.

"We're following suite behind the limousine. White van," the male spoke in his ear again. "If there is any problem, inform us. Over and out."

So he wasn't the only one who was going to watch her. There was going to be a van full of people. _Nice_, Darien thought as the driver turned a corner.

"You're new, aren't you?" the driver asked. He was around thirty and he had dark hair.

Darien glanced towards him and nodded. "Yeah. I trained for the Secret Services, but only briefly. It wasn't my major field in the CIA so I'm kind of learning as I go," Darien informed.

"Good luck with that. The bodyguards that have been in service for ten years couldn't last two weeks with Miss Bryant."

Darien looked out the window. "So I've heard," he replied dryly.

"I'm Kyle Hanley," he introduced himself to Darien after a moments silence.

Darien nodded," I'm Darien Shields."

When the limousine made a stop in front of an ordinary house, Darien stepped out to open the door for Serena. Before Serena even tried to get out of the car, a pretty girl with dark hair came prancing out of the house. She was dressed in a skirt and tank-top. Darien noticed that her eyes were a unique color of…. Violet. Her hair was long and thick.

"Hey," she said in a sweet voice. _He is hot_, Raye thought as she approached the car.

Darien just smiled and nodded, holding the door wide open for her. Once she crawled in, he closed the door. The car eventually took off to go pick up the next girl.

"Who was that gorgeous guy?" Raye asked, sitting next to Serena.

Serena rolled her eyes and shook her head. "He's not _gorgeous_, Raye. His name is Darien Shields, he's my new bodyguard."

"Oh," Raye said with a flirty smile. "I'd let him bodyguard me anytime!"

"Oh God," Serena said with a grin.

As the girls laughed and caught up, the window separating the back from the front came down. Darien poked his head through.

"Excuse me," Darien said politely, looking at Raye and Serena. "Where are we headed too next?"

Serena looked at Darien's flawless face and answered," We're picking up Mina, now."

Darien nodded and pushed the button for the window to roll back up again.

The girls were quiet for awhile until Raye said," Yeah. He is hot. You cannot deny that, Serena! There's no way you could possibly deny that."

"Hot or not," Serena began," He's not going to be around for long."

Raye clucked her tongue. "What a shame too. If I were you, I'd keep that one around just to stare at him."

Serena looked at Raye, shaking her head. "You and guys, Raye! Staring at him is going to do nothing for me. Besides, my dad needs to realize I don't need a babysitter."

"He doesn't look like a babysitter to me," Raye said with a grin. "And besides, he's not a babysitter he's your bodyguard! There are lots of weird people out there, Serena. Whether you want to admit it or not, you need a bodyguard."

Serena pouted at Raye's lecture. "I do not need a bodyguard! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"You _think_ that, but you're not. We're under Red Alert, Serena! Anything could happen at anytime. What if someone shot you?"

"Well then I hope they miss," Serena answered slyly.

Raye just shook her head at Serena's answer. Mina's house was not that far away, so they arrived quickly.

Darien, once again, opened the door for the girls. Mina took a little longer to come out, but not long. She also, Darien noticed, was pretty. She had long blonde hair that was half tied up. Her eyes were a pretty blue. She reminded Darien somewhat of Serena. She was dressed in jeans and a spaghetti strap.

"New bodyguard?" Mina asked as she walked towards the car. Darien nodded. "You are cute," she complimented, making Darien smile.

The car took off again, now going to pick up Lita.

"I will kill you if you get rid of him," Mina said seriously, sitting leisurely on her own seat.

"You guys just want me to keep him because you think he's hot," Serena said disapprovingly.

Mina shrugged. "So? What's your point? Serena… seriously. Give up this whole 'getting rid of bodyguards' charade. You know your dad will just keep hiring them. Might as well stop trying now that you landed Agent Dreamy."

Deep down, Serena knew this was true. Her father _would_ just keep hiring new bodyguards. It was inevitable.

"I don't care," Serena said stubbornly," how good looking he is. I have a boyfriend anyways, remember?"

Raye and Mina looked at each other, raising their eyebrows.

"You mean Ethan? The boyfriend who treats you like shit?" Raye retorted.

"He does not!" Serena yelled defensively, crossing her arms.

Mina shook her head. "When are you going to open your eyes and admit it? He's with you because your dad is the President. He's in it for the title, nothing else. He doesn't care about you, Serena! He's cheated on you, and you know it!"

"Shut up!" Serena yelled. This was supposed to be a good day! She hated fighting with her best friends.

Mina and Raye fell silent, not looking at Serena anymore.

The limo came to a stop again. Lita soon climbed in with a smile, but her smile quickly vanished once she saw how heavy the air was inside the limousine.

"What's going on?" she asked, her green eyes full of question. She was also very pretty. She had light brown hair that she always tied up. She wore a brown t-shirt and jeans.

Serena looked at her and smiled. "Nothing. We're here to have fun."

The atmosphere began to change again. Mina and Raye decided to let it go… for now.

---------------------------------

They drove to the mall, where the President had arranged for it to be shut down for the day for his daughter to shop. He was mainly worried about the crowds that would eventually gather around Serena. His daughter was now such a celebrity, it was dangerous for her to be out in public without a lot of security guards everywhere. The only people permitted to be in the mall were her friends, and the workers.

"I can't believe your dad did this," Lita said when they entered the mall that was completely deserted. "It must have been a fortune."

Serena shrugged. "He's getting so paranoid now…."

Darien trialed behind the girls but didn't feel necessary to be too close because the place was completely void of anyone that could be a threat. He was close but far away enough not to hear what they were saying.

They stopped in a Vintage store. Darien stood beside the clerk, keeping an eye out on the girls.

"What's your name?" the girl clerk asked with batting eyelashes.

"Darien," he answered conversationally. He was used to being hit on by girls so it was nothing new to him. He didn't let it get to his head either.

Raye elbowed Serena gently, moving her head so Serena could follow her movement towards Darien. "We've been in here for less then five minutes and the guy's already being proposed too," Raye joked.

Serena laughed as she picked up a shirt. She went to another rack of clothes and watched the worker and Darien talk through the corner of her eye. She saw the petite brunette hit Darien playfully, giggling idiotically at something he'd said. He just smiled and looked at the girls again, making sure everyone was in view. When Serena saw that Darien's eyes stopped on her, she pretended to be very interested in a shirt. She grabbed something random and added it to the pile in her arms, going up to the worker and asking for a fitting room.

The girl obediently rushed Serena to a dressing room. It wasn't everyday that a person would get to meet someone famous.

Darien followed but stopped at the entrance of the fitting room area. Out of all her friends, Darien found Serena the most attractive.

Serena stepped out soon after in a tattered jean mini-skirt, and black tank top with some old logo on it. She walked out to ask all her friends if they liked it. When they all gave an approving nod, she walked back towards him and the dressing room.

When she got to Darien she turned to face him. "What do _you_ think?" she asked, giving a little twirl in front of him.

He was a little surprised she was talking to him, but looked her up and down before answering. She was very beautiful, what with her long hair tied in that… weird way that suited her, in the black tank-top that formed nicely to all her curves, and the mini-skirt that showed off her gorgeous legs. Darien nodded, meeting her bright blue eyes. "It looks good…" he trailed off.

"But…"

"The skirt's too short," he finished, glancing away from her.

Serena thought he was blushing, but dismissed it. When he had looked in her eyes, she felt her knees give a little unexpectedly. "Too short?" she asked, looking down at it. "Don't guys usually _like_ that?" she said with a flirty smile.

Darien shrugged, looking anywhere but at her. "Not all guys," he answered. She was a little too close and it made him nervous. He did not have any problems with being too close to women, but this was a different situation. This was the President's daughter!

Serena frowned and retreated back to her fitting room. Usually guys would have flirted back with her, but he didn't. He wouldn't even look at her. _Well of course, dummy! He's working for your dad, he's not going to try anything on you_, her conscious told her. She changed into her regular clothes and her and her friends went out the store to go look around some more.

Darien just tagged along, trudging behind them with his hands in his pockets. He was bored. Watching girls shop was little excitement. Darien stifled a yawn as the girls entered another outlet. He went and stood by the cashier again, keeping a lazy eye on all the girls.

Raye, Lita, Mina, and Serena all watched secretively as the cashier started hitting on Darien. It was rather an amusing thing to watch. Girls were attracted to him right away, not that that was a surprise.

"I'm telling you," Mina whispered," You should definitely keep him."

Serena just rolled her eyes and went to go look at a pair of jeans. For a minute, just a minute, she thought about it. Keeping Darien…. _You're acting like he's some kind of prize to be won_, her conscious scolded. _And besides, he's not interested in you. Especially since he could have practically any girl he wanted_. Suddenly, the thought popped in her mind. If she could somehow seduce Darien… he'd be automatically fired! Oh, it was just too simple. Getting a guy to kiss her was easy. She had a feeling Darien would be difficult, and that's what she liked.- -A challenge. She now had a game plan.

It was set… now all she had to do was play and win.


	3. Guilt

**A.N: ** Thank you for the comments: )

My other story, Getting To Know You is now complete! Thank you for those who have followed that story from beginning to end. It means a lot!

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Chapter 3: Guilt

It had been a long and grueling five hours spent at the mall, then almost 3 hours at the theatre. While they were at the Food Court, laughing and gossiping, Darien sat by himself a couple of tables away, occasionally speaking into the microphone for unknown reasons. When the girls went to go watch the movie, he had to tag along. Of course, it was some ridiculous chick flick where almost all the girls cried; Raye and Lita would sometimes make fun of the movie, pretending to be overly dramatic and reenact a scene.

When it was time to drop off Serena's friends, Mina and Raye insisted on Darien being in the back with them instead of riding in the front.

Darien was hesitant at first, running his hand skeptically through his hair before agreeing and joining them in the back. He was seated on the opposite side of the car, whereas all the girls were crammed together to look at him.

"So, Darien," Raye began with a smile," How old are you?"

_Girls ask this question a lot…_Darien thought as he crossed his arms comfortably across his chest. "I'm twenty-three," he finally responded.

Serena couldn't help but notice how tantalizing he looked right now. He was slouched in the seat; his legs slightly spread open as he leaned against the chair. He took off his blazer once he was in the car for comfort. When he crossed his arms across his chest, it showed off his arm muscles as well as his chest muscles. His dark hair was a bit tousled and it fell teasingly in his eyes. He looked sexy.

Raye looked at the girls and they burst out laughing for some odd reason. Since they were girls, there probably wasn't any reason for them giggling at all, it was just something that they did.

Mina was the boldest out of the all girls, quickly asking," Do you have a girlfriend?" her eyes were bright with anticipation, and a playful smile touched her lips.

Darien raised a quizzical eyebrow and the corners of his lips tugged up slightly as he smiled. "Why do you want to know?"

Mina shrugged. "'Cause we're girls," she answered simply.

Darien smiled and gave a defeated sigh as she shook his head. "No, I don't have a girlfriend," he finally answered.

"How come?" Lita asked next, looking interested now.

Darien shrugged his shoulder and glanced away from the girls for a minute. "Don't have time," he responded without much thought.

Raye snorted at his response. She found guys so stupid sometimes. "You _make_ time for a girlfriend. I hate it when people say that they don't have time because it's a lie."

"I'm constantly guarding her now," he said with a quick gesture pointing towards Serena," I really _don't_ have time."

Serena had been quiet until now. "Then what about before me? You didn't get the job until today so did you have a girlfriend before?" She wasn't hurt by what he said, it was true. He won't have time for a girlfriend if the President had hired him twenty-four, seven.

Darien's blue eyes shot over to look at her and she suddenly felt her heart skip a beat. "No," he replied after a long pause. "I didn't have a girlfriend before I took this job either."

Mina looked annoyed now. How could a guy like him not have a girlfriend? Unless he was one of those type of guys that went around to break girls hearts and use them for nothing but his own entertainment. "So you're telling me you've never had a girlfriend because you never had the time too?"

Darien shook his head. "I didn't say that I _never_ had a girlfriend. I just haven't had one recently," he informed.

"Of course he's had a girlfriend before," Lita said to Mina. "With all of these girls hitting on him it'd be weird for him not too, unless he was gay."

Darien frowned. Sure, girls hit on him, but not all the time. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, looking offended.

Lita turned her attention towards him again. "Come on… every store we went into, a girl hit on you."

"That's because I'm the only guy that was there," he debated. "If there'd been more then one guy with me, it'd probably be different."

"Yeah right," Raye said, rolling her eyes.

Darien didn't like this. He was in a car full of teenage girls and they were harassing him. And, not to mention, asking him personal questions. He just tried his best to ignore them now, looking out the tinted window behind him.

The girls started talking amongst themselves again, going back into their little world of gossip before the first stop was made to drop off Lita. She climbed out of the car gracefully, waving goodbye to her friends and Darien.

One by one, the girls were dropped off to their houses, leaving only Serena and Darien in the car alone. They drove for a long while in silence.

_Well this is awkward_, Serena thought as she tried to look casual. He was looking out the window again, looking thoughtful. Her plan was set, but she wasn't about to attack him with anything just yet. It would have to be a gradual thing so she'd have to get to know him a little better. "Sorry about my friends," Serena apologized; breaking the silence and making Darien look at her.

"It's fine," he replied, his eyes seemingly content on hers.

Serena felt her stomach suddenly flip as she felt the intensity of his eyes. She blinked and looked away, breaking their eye contact. What is this sudden feeling she was having? This was not supposed to happen….

"So tell me, First daughter," Darien began with an amused look on his face as he brought his arms over to rest his hands on the back of his head, showing off more muscle unintentionally. "What's it like to be you?"

Serena glanced quickly back up at him, a little surprised by his question. She was quiet for awhile before answering," It's all right."

"Not great, then?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

Serena smiled as she slowly began feeling more comfortable with him. "No, it's not _great_. It's not like what you read in books and see on television and magazines."

"And what exactly is it that you read in books and see on television and magazines?"

Serena bit her lip and thought a little about his question before answering," Perfection. You see this prissy, blonde-headed girl with perfect manners and perfect behavior on the outside, but what you don't see is a girl who wants to be free and independent and live a normal life, on the inside."

Darien watched her for awhile and sat quietly. He brought his arms back down and rested them in his lap, his eyes turning serious. "No one has a 'normal' life, Serena," he told her, his voice gentle.

Serena was frozen, his eyes holding her captive as he leaned over and rested himself on his knees, hunching over slightly and looking at her. When he said her name, it sent shivers down her spine.

"People who lead 'normal' lives are people who are trying to cover-up something," he lectured.

It took Serena awhile to respond. She had to compose herself. "You know what I mean by a 'normal life'. I want to walk somewhere and not be bombarded by crowds. I want to go somewhere and not have to have security and bodyguards watching from every angle. I just want to be like everybody else. And I want my father to show up to one of Sam's football games and for him to have dinner with us without him having to schedule us in. Mainly, I want my father back," she finished.

Darien was quiet again. His eyes never once left hers as she spilled out her feelings. They felt the car come to a stop. Before Darien opened the door, he said something barely audible.

"I want mine back too…"

----------------------

Serena's faced scrunched up in confusion as he opened the door and hopped out, holding out a hand to help her. She wasn't sure she heard him right. She thought she saw a flash of sadness cross his face, but it was now replaced by a warm smile and a helping hand.

Serena reached out and took his hand. She suddenly felt an electric tingle run up her arm and through her entire body as he gently helped her out, soon after, releasing her hand. She wondered if he felt it too, but if he did he didn't show it.

Darien touched a flag pin and whispered," Liberty's back," before gesturing for her to go on ahead.

As Serena walked, she heard his footsteps not far behind her. _What was that feeling?_ She asked herself as she looked at her hand, closing and opening her fingers as if doing so would remove the tingling.

She decided to ignore all of these annoying feelings as she entered the White House. Some guards nodded to her as she walked past and she bowed her head in response with a smile.

She could still feel Darien's presence walking several feet away from her as she neared her room. Just before she opened the door, her phone rang, startling her.

"Oh!" she gave a little shriek, breathing out harshly. She frowned and dug through her bag for her cell phone. When she took it out, she saw that it was Ethan calling.

Darien just stood behind her and waited for her to open the door. When she went in, talking to someone on the phone named Ethan, he trailed in behind her and stood next to her door as he had earlier that morning. As he stood there, he listened in on her conversation.

"Me and the girls went shopping today," said happily into the phone as she flung herself on her bed.

Darien knew he wasn't supposed to be eavesdropping, but there wasn't much he could do.

Serena's face went from happy to frustrated. "I didn't think it'd matter whether I told you or not, Ethan!" Pause. "Well I'm sorry I couldn't see you today, but me and the girls haven't done anything in a long time and today was the only day I could," she explained. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice getting soft now. "I know…. I miss you too. K… see you Monday. Love you… bye." She took the phone away from her ear and clicked the END button before throwing the phone haphazardly away from her. She put her hands on her face and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Trouble in paradise?" she heard Darien's deep voice ask off to the side.

Serena took her hands away and turned around to face him, lying sideways on the bed and putting a hand under her head to keep herself up. "Listening in on my conversation, were you?" she asked with a smile.

Darien shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "There's not much else I can do," he replied honestly.

Serena grinned and rolled off her bed, landing gracefully on her feet. "Don't worry. You won't be bored for much longer. Only two more hours until nine," she said as she waddled over towards the bathroom. "You don't have to stand there, you know? Sit on the couch or something," she told him, pointing to the sitting area in the middle of her room. "I have to go get ready for dinner," and with that she left him alone as she disappeared in the bathroom.

Darien looked at the closed door for awhile before deciding to walk around her room and look at her things. He walked over to her desk and stereo first. He looked at her rack full of CD's to see what type of music she listened too. There were oldies, some jazz, indie, and r&b. It looked like she listened to a little bit of everything. Afterwards, he walked over to her bookshelf to see what she liked to read. There were a lot of fiction literature books and a couple of modern books. His eyes landed on family photo that looked like it had been taken a few years earlier. She looked younger in the picture, but still very pretty.

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened and she walked out again dressed comfortably in pajama pants and a t-shirt.

Darien raised an eyebrow and smiled. "You wear that to dinner?"

"It's dinner with my family... not the red carpet," she told him as she slipped on fuzzy slippers and headed out of her room, Darien following her.

When she arrived, Sam and Irene were already seated, but Ken was not.

"Hey mom, Sam," she greeted as she sat down.

Irene smiled sweetly at her daughter. "Hi honey. What have you done today?" Irene asked as she took a sip from her water, waiting patiently for her husband.

Serena fidgeted around in her chair and then raised her leg up to sit Indian style, looking extremely comfortable. "I went shopping with the girls," she announced, looking at her mom then to Sam.

Sam was dressed in casual clothes and looking very bored.

Darien saw Andrew and Jessica lined up at the wall, guarding and looking serious. He decided to go join them.

"Where's dad?" Serena asked, sounding a little annoyed.

Irene sighed and glanced down at her empty plate. "He said he'll be a little late… he's in an important meeting right now."

Sam rested his chin in his palm. "He's _always_ in a meeting," he said, his face blank.

"I know, sweetheart," Irene began, looking guilty. "but you have to remember your dad has a lot of responsibility and things to take care of now."

Serena took her glass of water and toyed with the ice. "He also has a responsibility to his family too, mom," she said irritably.

Irene frowned at her mopey children. "You know your father puts his family first," Irene defended.

"Yeah? Like right now, mom?" Serena asked, looking very aggravated by now. Sam just sat quietly, being very used to this outburst by now. "He can't spend thirty minutes at dinner with us, but he'll spend the entire day with his cabinet?"

Irene rubbed her temple and closed her eyes. "Serena… must we go through this every night? He has a country to look out for also. Stop being so selfish," Irene said quietly.

Serena stood up and threw her napkin on the table. "Me wanting my dad to have dinner with his family is _not_ being selfish. He's ALWAYS in some kind of damn meeting when he should be spending time with us! Don't tell me I'm selfish when we haven't spent any time together as a _family_ in MONTHS, mom!" Serena said angrily. "I'll have dinner in my room since there's no point eating with a family that doesn't exist anymore."

Darien watched in horror as she stormed off. He didn't know what to do so he ran after her, keeping, making sure he kept his distance.

When they reached her room, she threw the door open and it hit the wall loudly. Then she jumped on her bed, covering her face with her pillow.

Darien didn't know whether to comfort her, or to leave her alone.

"Do you see what I mean now?" he heard her say through the pillow. "It's like I don't even have a dad. He's too busy playing Superman to notice his own family."

Darien walked over to her and sat on the edge of her bed. "I know it's a major change," Darien began, struggling for words," but him being the President, he has a lot of things he needs to take care of. He cares about you," Darien began, placing a hand on her arm soothingly. "If he didn't he wouldn't rush to have bodyguards for his family and call to have a mall emptied out for his daughter's safety."

Serena felt the weight of his hand on her arm and she felt the same electric tingle start spreading from her arm throughout her body. She lifted the pillow off her face and turned her head to look at him. "I know he cares," she explained," But he's never here anymore… It's like having a broken family. I see my dad in the morning and at night, that's all. We barely talk or anything, same with my mom. I try to keep up with Sam, but even with him it's hard. He set aside Sundays for 'family day', but then he always has to cancel because of some meeting or something. I hate it."

Darien moved his hand away from her arm. He knew how she felt; only his feeling was permanent. "Just three more years," he reassured her with a smile.

Right when he moved his hand, she immediately missed the feeling of his touch. "Yeah, that's only if he doesn't run again."

"True," Darien said, getting off her bed. "But you need to consider how your mom feels too."

Serena winced at what he said. That was true… her words probably stung her mom. Serena sighed and got up from bed. "Fine," she said dryly," I'll go apologize, but I'm not having dinner with them," she said stubbornly, walking out of her room again.

Darien smiled as he followed after her. She was stubborn, but also caring.

When they reached the dining room, Serena saw her father sit at the end of the table, talking to her mother, Sam sitting next to her dad cutting his steak.

Ken stopped talking and looked up at Serena. "Nice of you to join us," he said, not looking too pleased.

"I didn't come here to have dinner with you," she said rudely to her father. "I came to apologize to mom."

Irene looked at her and placed her fork and knife down to listen to her what Serena had to say.

Serena looked at her mom and then glanced away from her. "I'm sorry, mom, if I hurt your feelings."

Irene smiled and nodded. "It's okay, honey. I understand," she said sweetly. "Now, have some dinner."

Serena shook her head. "No. I'm fine. I apologize, but I still meant what I said," and with that, she turned and walked away again.

Ken looked as she walked away. He couldn't help but feel guilty. He had almost forgotten dinner. He was so busy worrying about how to handle North Korea, all thoughts of his family escaped his mind.

Irene reached over and took her husbands hand tenderly. "Honey, eat. Afterwards, go talk to her."

Ken smiled weakly and nodded.

------------------------

About fifteen minutes after they'd returned to the room, there was a knock on the door and Ken came in.

Ken looked at Darien and waved a hand. "You can leave now, Darien."

Darien nodded and walked out of the room, leaving father and daughter alone.

Serena saw her father and frowned, putting down her book she'd been reading. "Yes?" she asked snidely.

Ken smiled at his daughter's persistence. "I think we need to talk," he said in a soft voice, going over and sitting on her bed.

Serena sat up. "What is there to talk about?"

Ken exhaled, feeling the stress in knots in his back and shoulders. "You know I want to spend more time with you, Sam, and your mother, but I sometimes can't. I'm trying to negotiate a deal with North Korea right now and if they don't accept, we are in big trouble," he explained to her. "And I know it seems like I haven't been much of a father or around lately, but that's something that came with the package of me being the President. I don't like it any more then you do, but it's something that we're going to have to cope with."

Serena looked at her father. He seemed tired. More tired then usual and that made her heart hurt for him. "I know, dad," Serena began. "But thirty minutes for dinner is not that much to ask for… or going to one of Sam's games. It's hard on him when you're not there to cheer him on like you used too."

Ken looked down at his hands and nodded. "I know. I'm missing out in your life. You two are both growing so fast and I don't even get to see it," he said sadly.

Serena moved closer to her dad and hugged him. "You're a great President," she whispered," and an even better dad. But lately you've been too busy with Presidential things that it seems like you've forgotten your family," Serena told him.

Ken nodded understandingly. "I sometimes regret running for office. I never know if I'm making the right decisions for our country or not. And lately it seems as if everyone's been against my decisions then being for it. The News criticizes me, the world criticizes me. It's like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders," he confessed, his eyes looking extremely sad.

Serena felt bad for getting angry with him now. She knew that a lot of people didn't like how her father was handling things. And here she was, adding stress and guilt on him for being a bad father when he was trying his best. "I'm sorry, dad," she said softly.

Ken smiled down at her and patted her on her shoulder affectionately. "It's all right, sweetheart. I promise I'll try harder, okay?" he said, looking at her with tired eyes.

Serena smiled and nodded as he got up. "I love you dad," she told him, as if to reassure him.

Ken smiled as he started to head out. " I love you too, Serena."

----------------------

Serena lay in her bubble bath as soft music blurred in the background. She played with the bubbles as she thought about events earlier today. _I am selfish_, she thought about what her mother said. _He has to take care of the entire United States and I'm being selfish_.

As her mind weaved in and out of her family and friends, it eventually landed on Darien. She realized she had completely forgotten about her plan. She wasn't exactly sure how she was going to come about seducing him… but she had better do it soon. These feelings he was conjuring up in her were not normal. She shouldn't be feeling this way when she had a boyfriend!

She caught herself comparing Ethan to Darien. Ethan was the best-looking guy at her school. He had brown hair and green eyes. He was tall and muscular…. But then again, compared to Darien he was puny. Darien's dark blue eyes were mysterious and full of secrets. Not to mention, Darien had been sweet to her today. When was the last time Ethan was nice to her?

_Stop thinking like this!_ She yelled at herself. She ducked her head under water and let the water envelope around her, muffling out all noises.

She couldn't be thinking this way…. Comparing her own boyfriend to a man she hardly knew that was willing to take a bullet for her.

Yes… Darien has to go.


	4. Photo Shoot

A.N: Thank you for the reviews!

BIG NEWS! I'm leaving in 7 days for almost a whole month… so my story will be on hiatus until then… I'm so sorry! Please don't hate me….

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Chapter 4: Photo Shoot

Sunday was Darien's day off because it was supposed to be 'family day' for the Bryant's. He didn't mind the least bit. He took the advantage to go visit his mother. He didn't think it was healthy that she stayed home all the time.

Paula Shields was in her late forties and had been living on her own since her husband had been killed in the car accident. She was left to raise Darien by herself, and through the ordeal, she proved to be a strong woman.

She was in her gardening apparel when she saw Darien's car pull up in her driveway. She smiled as she saw him get out of his car and walk up to her to give her a hug.

"Sweetheart," she squealed, squeezing her son tightly. "Why aren't you working today? I thought the President hired you for a twenty-four hour job."

Darien pulled away and looked at her through loving eyes. She was a petite, fragile lady with dark brown hair. She was starting to form wrinkles, but it seemed to make her look lovelier. Her hair, Darien noticed, was graying slightly and it was a little messy since she'd been in the sun gardening all day. "I have Sunday's off," he informed her happily, walking into the house with her.

She immediately ran into the kitchen to make drinks as Darien sat down at the dinner table, looking around to see if anything had changed; nothing did.

"The White House must be lovely," she said, looking over her shoulder as she reached for some cups.

Darien nodded as he got up again to help his mother. "It's pretty big," he said with a grin.

She saw Darien get up and shoved him to sit back down. "Don't you dare help me," she threatened with motherly affection.

Darien laughed and sat back down as she finished making the drinks and set it in front of him. As he picked it up, he noticed a name tag lying on the table and frowned. "Mom… are you working?" he asked sounding shocked.

His mother shrugged her shoulders as she sat down across from him. "What do you expect me to do, Darien? Sit around all day? I need things to do! I'm not old," she said haughtily, taking a sip of tea.

Darien shook his head, looking cynical. "I told you that you didn't have to work anymore, mom. I make a lot of money," he said, looking concerned.

Paula smiled at him, her eyes twinkling as she set her cup gently down on the table. "I know, honey," she replied, reaching out her hand and putting it over Darien's. "And I appreciate everything you're doing for me, but I can take care of myself," she assured him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I just don't want you to work too hard," he explained.

She shook her head," Nonsense," she said with a smile," Don't worry about me, Darien. I know what I handle and what I can't. You're young, worry about yourself, first. Like… finding yourself a wife and giving me grandchildren," she added, glancing away and looking innocent.

Darien chuckled at his mother's forwardness. He was so blessed he still had her in his life. "I'm twenty-three, mom. I don't plan on getting married for awhile," he told her with a cheeky grin.

She instantly frowned at this news. "Well, the sooner I get grandchildren, the quicker I'll quit working," she said, tapping her finger on the table to make her point. "I married your father when I was young… what's the problem?"

Darien rolled his eyes," There's no problem… I just don't want anyone right now. I'm focused on my job. I don't want anything to distract me."

"Sweetheart, you need distraction sometimes," she lectured. She didn't see why her son couldn't get a girlfriend! He was handsome, just like his father, and yet he was still single. Sometimes she wished he wasn't so wrapped up in his work.

"And that's why I have you," he teased, making her frown again. Darien laughed at her facial expression. "I'm joking mom."

She smiled again as she got up. She walked over towards him and held his face in her small hands. "You worry me sometimes," she confessed. "You're too worried about your work to do anything about your social life and I'm afraid you might regret it one day."

"I have a social life," he argued back, his mouth squashed because of her hands.

She just let go of his face and gave him a doubtful look.

"What?" he asked, raising his eyebrow. "What's this look you're giving me?"

She smiled again as she shook her head. "I don't believe you," she simply answered, standing in front of him with her arms crossed. "Normal twenty-three year old men would be in the bar or whatever it is they do, with their friends… or girlfriends. Not visiting their mothers."

Darien scowled at this. "I was checking-up on you! You don't want me to visit you anymore?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Oh, stop being difficult. You know what I mean," she said in an exasperated voice.

He did, but he didn't care. Women, right now, were the farthest thing in his mind. He was only concerned about his mother, and his job. He didn't have a social life because he'd wake-up early to go to work, then come home late. He drowned himself in his job, wanting to be ranked higher and noticed. Now he was there and he was only steps away and no one was going to distract him.

After a long pause, and patted him on his shoulder. "Go out, Darien. Have some fun. You missed out on your childhood, I don't want to you to miss out on the rest of your life. I'll be fine. If I need anything, I'll call," she said, ushering him out with her words.

He reluctantly got up and walked to the door. Before he left, she gave him a hug and a kiss on the forehead.

"I love you sweetheart. Be safe," she said with a wave and closed the door.

_My own mother kicks me out of the house_, he thought as he trudged to his car. As he drove off, he remembered he hadn't visited his father's grave in awhile, so he decided to stop by.

When he reached his father's tomb, he saw that there were fresh flowers right next to it. He knew his mother still visited the grave often. Darien sat down in front of the engraved tomb. "Hey dad…."

-------------------------

This was the first time in a long time that the Bryant's got to spend time with each other. Ken had promised Serena he'd try harder to do things with them, so he kept his word, even though he felt the weight of the world waiting for him.

They all sat next to a blazing fire as they played monopoly, laughing and pointing fingers at each other. Ken had forgotten how much he'd missed spending time with his family until he saw Sam, Serena, and Irene all laughing together. His kids really had grown up a lot… he felt like he hardly knew them anymore.

The living room they were sitting in was one of many living rooms the White House offered. With its marbled floor and decorative wallpaper and old-fashioned furniture, it sent off a homey feel.

They had gotten to spend most of the day together as a family before one phone call disrupted everything. When Ken heard his phone ring, he knew it was urgent because he had told everyone in his office and Cabinet to only call if it was urgent or an emergency. As the phone rang, he looked up to see Serena's reaction. To his surprise, she smiled and gave him a reassuring nod. He smiled and apologized before answering, leaving his family to attend to his Presidential duties.

-------------------------

Today had been a good day for Serena. She finally got to spend almost the entire day with her whole family. When her dad received a phone call, she understood and let him go without an argument.

Irene, Sam, and her wrapped up the game and they dispersed to their own room since it was late anyways. It was almost ten and she had school the next morning, then afterwards she had a photo shoot with Teen Vogue.

As she walked to her room, she saw Darien. He was wearing a white pin-stripped buttoned up shirt and black slacks. He didn't button his shirt all the way up so she got a little glimpse of his chest. He looked sexy, but still professional. His hair was tousled about; looking like the wind had gotten a hold of it and played with it. His hands were in his pockets as he walked and he seemed oblivious to the fact that Serena was watching him.

When he walked past her, she heard herself say," Hey Darien," without meaning too. Something took over her and she immediately regretted it.

Darien turned around, looking a little startled, but when he saw her his face softened. "Hey, Serena," he greeted back, stopping where he was.

She didn't know what to do now… what to say. "H-how was your day?" she stammered, saying the first thing that popped in her head.

Darien smiled, looking amused. "It was fine. And yours?" he asked back.

His smile did a number of things to Serena. It made her heart flutter, her stomach flip, and her pulse quicken. "Great," she answered, looking down at her feet.

There was an awkward silence and then Serena abruptly said," Well… nice seeing you," and she zipped past him, leaving him confused.

Darien frowned as he began walking again, Serena way ahead of him. _Women_, he thought, shaking his head. Exactly why he wasn't interested right now.

----------------------------

_What the hell was that?_ Serena scolded as she ran into her room. _I was just standing there, watching him, and before I know it I lunge out and talk to him, making myself look like an idiot!_ She gave a frustrated sigh and sat down on her couch, turning on her t.v.

_Sure he's gorgeous_, she thought as she skimmed through the channel, looking for nothing in particular. _But I'm only eighteen, whereas he's twenty-three! Plus, I'm supposed to get rid of him. AND I have a boyfriend!_

Recently, every time she thought about Darien, she'd end up reminding herself the same things over and over again.

_It's not like I like him.. _she reassured herself. _I mean, I hardly know him!_

She fought with herself back and forth before she finally yelled," Damnit! I have GOT to get this plan in motion and fast!"

----------------------

Darien had to wake up early because he had to go to school with Serena. _High School_, he thought as he remembered back when he was still in school. _Stupid drama, giggling girls, and perverted guys_, he thought further as he got up and got ready.

He was dressed in a nice white-shirt, jeans, and a black blazer. He put in his ear peice as he headed towards Serena's room. When he entered, she was sitting on her bed, reading some book again, but she was all dressed. Her hair was like always, in that meatball shape. She layered her tank-tops; a bright blue underneath, and a black one on top. She wore regular jeans that fit her curves perfectly, and plain chucks. When she noticed Darien, she put her book down and grabbed her messenger bag.

"Morning!" she said brightly as she headed out the door. "Breakfast, then school," she told him as he followed.

They started the mornings like how they always did. The Secret Services had breakfast at one end of the table, while the Bryant's had breakfast at the other end. The children ate quickly and rushed out the door to school, while Ken and Irene hurried off to do whatever they had scheduled for the day.

When Darien, Andrew, Serena, and Sam all arrived, they split up to go their separate ways. Andrew followed Sam as he united with some kids his age, and Darien followed Serena as she walked up to a guy and kissed him before they walked off, hand-in-hand.

Darien figured the guy was her boyfriend, named Ethan. He looked him up and down as he followed behind. He was good looking enough, but something about him irked Darien, but he couldn't put his finger on it. As Darien trailed behind, he started noticing teenage girls staring at him and then excitedly whispering to a girl next to him. Darien smiled to himself, rolling his eyes as he thought,_ High School…_

During her classes, Darien would stand behind in the back of the class. He thought he'd be invisible since Serena had new bodyguards all the time, but he was wrong. Girls stared at him… a lot of them. When class started, some girls would steal glances at him, trying to look casual by stretching their arms and bending back, pretending to yawn as they quickly looked at him. Darien found this more amusing then anything. When the teacher caught some of them, she would look at Darien with a disapproving eye. _Right… Like I'm doing anything_, he thought inwardly. He wasn't actually _in_ high school and he was in trouble with the teachers!

When the bell rang, Serena waited for him, her face looking solemn. "What are you doing? You're distracting the class," she whispered to him, walking through the hallway to get to her locker.

Darien scrunched his eyebrows together. "I didn't do anything! I was just standing there and your stupid peers kept looking at me!"

Serena frowned. She knew he wasn't lying because as they were walking down the hallway, girls were staring. They weren't staring at her either; they were fully gawking at Darien. "Fine," she whispered again," Try not to look so… cute next time then," she said as she started turning red.

Darien looked at her and smiled. "You think I look cute?" he asked, fully enjoying this.

Serena rolled her eyes at him. "The other girls obviously do," she told him, clutching her books to her chest as she turned the corner.

"I can't help how I look. This is how I dress and this is how I'm going to keep dressing," he told her.

Serena glared at him as she approached her locker. Darien saw Ethan leaning against her locker, waiting for her so he decided to give them a little space. As Serena talked to Ethan and opened her locker, Darien noticed that Ethan was looking at him. Darien stared back. When Ethan saw this he glanced away. _That's what I thought_, Darien said in his head.

Just as this thought ran in his head, a girl bumped into Darien, dropping her things. Darien immediately bent over and helped her, apologizing at the same time. When the girl looked up, she said," Darien! I forgot you'd be here! Serena has a freakin' new bodyguard every week," she started to ramble as she took a book away from Darien.

Darien smiled and handed her back her things. "Hey, Raye. Nice to see you again," he greeted politely.

"You too! Sorry about running into you! I saw Ethan and Serena and I didn't pay attention to anything else. I hate them together," she kept talking, forcing Darien to listen as he occasionally glanced towards Serena.

"Oh! The bell's gonna ring, I'll see you at lunch," she said and shuffled away from him.

_Girls are SO weird in high school_, Darien thought again as Ethan and Serena got finished with their make-out session and she headed to her next class.

As they walked, Darien whispered," You guys better use protection next time. You don't know what kind of diseases you'll pick up nowadays."

Serena stopped in her tracks and looked up at Darien with a furious glare. "I cannot believe…you are SUCH a jackass!" and she went into class.

Darien smiled as he followed, making his way into the back as girls started noticing him again, ogling him.

-----------------

At lunch, Darien spotted Andrew sitting at his own table, so he decided to join. Andrew scooted over to make room for Darien. They didn't eat, they just watched and guarded.

"How's the first day coming along?" Andrew asked as he kept an eye out for Sam and his surroundings.

Darien looked over at Serena's 'popular' table and scanned around the cafeteria for anything out of the ordinary. "Oh, it's just peachy," he answered sarcastically, making Andrew grin.

"You like how the girls stare at you in class? It was insane when I first came here, but it eventually died out. Now it looks like _you're_ the girl's new target," Andrew said with a smirk

Darien smiled as his eyes roamed around the room. "You look like you have a fan club over there. There are several girls who won't look anywhere but at you," Darien pointed out, tilting his head to the side, giving Andrew a clue.

Andrew just shrugged. "What can you do when you're as sexy as me?" He joked.

----------------

Serena noticed Darien suddenly laughing at something Andrew had just said. She was sitting next to Ethan as they ate whatever the cafeteria or student store had that day. She noticed that practically half the girls in the cafeteria had their gazes on Andrew and Darien, who were lost in their own conversation now.

Mina took a seat across from Serena. "Looks like Darien's doing well on his first day, huh?" Mina asked as she opened her can of Pepsi.

Lita and Raye soon joined afterward, talking amongst themselves.

"Yes. He keeps making a scene in my classes! It's so distracting," Serena complained as she picked up a fry.

Ethan scooted closer to Serena and wrapped an arm around her waist. He leaned in and whispered," When are you getting rid of him? I don't like him."

Serena turned to look with questioning eyes. "Why?"

"Because," he answered simply with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Because," Mina started," He's intimidated AND threatened by Darien."

Ethan glared at Mina with dangerous eyes before he spat," I am NOT intimidated OR threatened by _anyone_."

Mina just rolled her eyes and turned her attention towards her other friends.

"Cool down there, tough guy," Serena said, gently stroking his arm. "It's all right. He won't be with me for long."

Ethan smiled and nodded. "Good."

After a long pause, and angry glances towards Darien, Ethan asked Serena if she could go to a party with him this weekend.

Serena bit her lip as she thought about it. "I'm not sure, Ethan… I'd have to call my manager and ask if I have Saturday off. I might have something planned already."

Ethan quickly released his grip around Serena's waist, his eyes turning cold. "You never do anything with me. You spent last Saturday with your friends, you can't spend one with your boyfriend?" he asked, looking mad.

"Don't start, Ethan," Serena said with a sigh. "You know I have a schedule and you know how busy I am."

Ethan started to get up to leave. "So busy you don't have time for your boyfriend! You better figure something out soon, Serena, or else we are over," and he left.

At this point, Serena didn't become upset anymore. This happened regularly between the two of them, it was just something that they did. They argued, they fought, then they made-up.

When Raye noticed this, she leaned over and said," Seriously, Serena. He's a bastard, just break up with him already!"

Serena just gave her a look, and then turned away, her eyes landing on Darien again. As she stared at him subconsciously, she saw Darien's gaze lift to hers. When their gazes met, Darien's eyes seemed to ask," Are you okay?" Serena gave a small reassuring smile and turned her head away.

---------------------

The day went by quickly, and soon, high school was done for the day. Serena, however, had lots of things she had to do. She had a photo shoot today at Teen Vogue, so right after school, she scurried off to the limo and headed out with Darien.

Darien decided to sit in the front with the driver, so Serena sat in the back by herself, which she didn't mind. She took this time to take a little nap.

The drive was a good hour away. When they reached the studio, Darien opened the door to let Serena out, but she never climbed out so he peeked in. He saw she had fallen asleep and was curled up on the seat.

He shook his head and climbed in to wake her. As he looked at her, he smiled. She looked adorable. Some of her hair had fallen to her face and Darien had the urge to move it, so he did. He lightly brushed away the strands of hair away from her face, then lightly stroked her soft cheek. "Hey," he whispered," Wake-up… we're here," he whispered in her ear.

Serena stirred when she felt something tickle her ear and touch her face. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, her eyelashes batting together as dark blue eyes greeted her. She lay still as she felt Darien's hand graze her cheek once more, then stopped as he took his hand away. He was so close to her, all she had to do was lift her face and their lips would meet. Once this thought crossed her mind, Darien moved away, smiling.

"Sorry I had to wake you, but you don't want to be late for your photo shoot," he told her as he jumped out of the car and waited for her.

She finally got up and rubbed her sleepy eyes as she stumbled out of the car. She couldn't get the image of how close he had been to her, out of her mind.

When she stepped out of the car, Amy Anderson, her manager was waiting for her.

Amy was very young, only about twenty-one, but she handled one of the top Hollywood agencies. She was very hardworking and always stressed for time. She handled everything that Serena and Sam had to do. She got them noticed and created their image.

"Hi, Amy," Serena said groggily as she followed Amy, Darien following behind.

Amy took Serena's arms and led her into the building. "You are ten minutes late, Serena," she started complaining.

------------------------------

Darien watched as Serena posed in 'fashionable' clothes. Her hair was big and curly, and her make-up was heavy. She was dressed in some kind of dress that showed off her figure quite nicely.

The workers turned on a fan as she stood in front of a white screen. The fan blew her hair about and made her dress come up slightly, revealing more of her legs.

Lights quickly shot nonstop as she posed randomly and danced around, smiling and laughing.

Darien could hear the photographer shout encouraging words, like," Great! Oh… do that again! You look wonderful!"

It was already six and she wasn't even halfway through with the photo shoot. Darien went to the crew table and grabbed some food as he kept a watchful eye out on everything.

When Darien looked towards Serena again, she was lying down on the ground as someone went to her and put her hair the 'right way', spreading it around her face in curls. She looked gorgeous… and extremely tempting as she lay sprawled out on the ground with her luscious hair all around her. Darien groaned as he turned his gaze elsewhere.

Earlier when he had woken her up, he felt himself wanting to lean in and kiss her, but he turned away before he did something stupid. Something that could get him fired. Already, she was a distraction from his job… and she _was_ his job…

He figured he was just feeling these things because it had been awhile since he'd been this close to any sort of woman at all.

As he took a bite out of a sandwich and let his mind block out any sexual, distracting thoughts, Serena came up next to him and grabbed something to munch on.

She grabbed a celery stick and bit it as she turned around to look at Darien. She was wearing a red dress that showed off a lot of skin, but covered up enough to still make it look conservative and sexy, all at the same time. She had on a bright red lipstick to match.

"Bored?" she asked with a smile as she took another bite.

Darien just nodded as he reached for a cup of water. Of course he was bored… he was standing around and looking out for nothing in particular…

The photographer came up to Serena, looking worried. "Our male model just called in… apparently he has gone down with a stomach virus and won't be able to make it," the man said, looking ashamed.

Serena was supposed to take some pictures with a male model for Teen Vogue, along with for some kind of clothing store.

"It's okay," she said with a shrug. _Good! I get to go home early!_

The photographer turned to Darien and looked him up and down. Darien was completely oblivious to this because he was chewing on his food very unattractively.

"You," the photographer said as he spun Darien around," could replace him!"

Darien almost choked on his sandwich as he tried to swallow. "E-excuse me?"

The photographer grinned and nodded. "You are _perfect_! Tall, dark, and very handsome… we'll pay you of course," he tried to bribe Darien who was looking unsure and confused.

"Urm… I don't _do_ pictures," Darien said as he placed his sandwich on the table and looked at the photographer with serious eyes.

"No, no!" the photographer said loudly, waving a hand around," you get one thousand dollars for every picture printed."

_One thousand with every print? _His mind screamed. _Take it!_ Darien smiled at this. "Okay… all right. I don't see why not? I mean… I'll just be standing around in clothes," he shrugged.

Serena, however, did not like this at all. "No… no, no, no no," Serena said shaking her head. "He _cannot_ do this.."

"Why not?" the photographer asked, looking distraught.

"Yeah! Why not?" Darien chimed in. _This is a LOT of money we're talking about here!_

Serena searched her thoughts for an answer. "B-because…. " was all she managed.

The photographer brushed Serena off and grabbed a hold of Darien, leading him away to go get changed.

Fifteen minutes later, Darien came out dressed in some kind of preppy clothes. His hair was gelled and in all sorts of direction. He even had makeup applied to his face! The shirt he was wearing wasn't buttoned up. He was wearing jeans along with the nonbuttoned, button-up shirt. _I don't get it…_he thought as he stepped out, feeling a little awkward. _The point of having a button-up shirt is to button it up...so why am I not allowed to button it up? _He had the perfect body for this kind of shoot though. He had perfectly crafted eight pack abs, and a muscle line that went down from his hips and disappeared into the jeans. His skin was evenly tanned… he was _exactly_ like a male model, possibly better.

Serena came out dressed in different clothes now. She had on a mini-skirt and a tight fitting tee with the store logo on it. Her hair was straight now, and her makeup was less heavy. When she saw Darien's open shirt, her jaw almost dropped. She could suddenly hear her heart beat in her ear as she approached him, her eyes glued to his body.

"Hi," Darien greeted with a sexy smile. "Sorry about the… open shirt thing. They wouldn't let me button it up," he explained, looking a little shy.

Serena tore her gaze away from his chest and abs and looked away, nodding. "It's fine," she managed to squeak out.

The photographer came back into view, ushering the two of them to stand together in front of a backdrop. "You two look gorgeous… _just_ gorgeous," the man said with twinkling eyes as he came to them and told them how to pose.

"Now… Darien, I want you to hold Serena," he started to explain, grabbing Darien's arms and slinging it around Serena's waist. Her back was to him.

Darien just followed instructions, not noticing how uncomfortable Serena felt… not that she didn't enjoy it, deep down. Serena's breathing began to get a little heavy and she suddenly felt very hot when she felt Darien pull her to him. She could feel his every move as she was forced to lean into him. Her face began to turn red.

The photographer took his place behind his large camera again and began taking pictures as Serena did her best to focus on the task at hand… but all she could do was focus on where _Darien's_ hands were; around her waist.

Darien was too busy figuring out how he should look to actually think about the fact that Serena was in his arms, leaning into him.

After a couple of shots like this, the photographer told Darien to move his head and look at Serena and pretend to be very 'interested' in her. This was when Darien noticed just how truly close he was to her. Darien did as told and leaned his head in near Serena's neck, and gazing intently at her.

Serena gulped nervously when she felt the heat of his gaze burn her face. _Gods he's gorgeous_… _and so close…_

After several flashes went by, the photographer told Serena to turn around and face Darien. She did as told, though she felt kind of awkward. She turned around in his arms, now facing him. She felt her cheeks turn redder as she tried not to look at him.

The photographer looked at them for a second and studied their position. "Serena… place your arms around his neck and look up at him. Pretend you two are together," he instructed as he wobbled back to his camera.

_Great_, Darien thought as he saw her lift a shy eye up to his. She slowly brought her arms up and draped them around his neck, bringing herself closer to him. _Awkward…_ he thought as he stared at her, unable to move. _Extremely awkward… and my shirt is open_, he thought. _Oh god! What if her dad sees these pictures? Am I going to get fired?_ He thought again, beating himself up. _I'm an idiot! The President's gonna think I took advantage of the situation_!

Serena saw regret and doubt flash in Darien's eyes as she looked into them, then she saw panic. But through each emotion, he kept still and didn't let go of her. She suddenly realized how secure and safe she felt in his arms.

The photographer interrupted her thoughts when he told Darien to lean in and act like he was about to kiss her.

This set alarms off in Darien's mind. "I can't do that…" Darien suddenly said to the photographer, breaking his gaze from Serena's eyes and loosening his grip around her.

"Why not?" the photographer asked, looking annoyed.

"Because… it's the President's daughter," Darien answered. "He'll fire me if he sees these photos."

Amy nodded. She'd just returned from her quick break. "He's right, Mark," Amy said loudly. "This isn't the kind of pictures we signed up for. We are supposed to give fans an image of an "All-American girl", not… whatever this is," she said, waving her hand about and walking towards the photographer.

The photographer, Mark, was looking outraged now, his face turning red. "You signed a contract that said she would take pictures with a male model," he said angrily.

"Yes," Amy agreed. "But not like this… can you not do something else? Where Darien's actually _covered_ up? And not all over Serena?"

When Amy said that, Darien blushed and quickly let go of Serena.

"And… DARIEN?" Amy suddenly realized that Darien was in the photo shoot. "What's going on? You're Serena's _bodyguard_, since when were you a male model too?"

Darien scratched his head, looking guilty. "The male model didn't show up, so the photographer asked me to do it…" he explained.

Amy turned back and looked at the Mark with furious eyes. "You didn't even ASK me? I'm Serena's MANAGER! Oh… forget it! This photo shoot is OVER, Mark! And that film BETTER be in my hands by the end of the day!" Amy stomped off, waving her arms above her head as she talked to herself.

Mark looked crestfallen as he walked away. "You may go now…" he said as he took his camera down.

Darien stood there, in his ,almost, half-naked glory and ran a hand through his gelled hair. "I'm sorry, Serena," he apologized, looking sad.

She'd been quiet through all of this, not really knowing what to say or do. She shrugged and gave him a smile. "It's okay. At least I got the Teen Vogue pictures done," she said.

Darien gave her a weak smile in response, then added," I was kind of greedy for the money, so I didn't think about anything else."

Serena just stood there, crossing her arms, letting an awkward silence settle over them.

"Well…" Darien said after awhile," I think I'd better go get dressed," he said as he started walking off. "And by the way," he said over his shoulder," You look nice."

Serena blushed at his words and turned around to go get changed also. As she walked away, one thought crossed her mind, and that was how right she felt when she was in his arms.


	5. Stubborn

**A.N: **Hey all! Thanks for the reviews! I will be able to update when I'm in California, so don't worry! I'm not so sure about Italy though… but I will do my best!

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Umm… I have a feeling this story is going to be upgraded to **"M"** instead of "T". I hope that's okay with everyone.

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Chapter 5: Stubborn

When Serena got back home, she had to start doing her homework and studies, even though she was lazy too. School wasn't exactly her forte. She disliked studying as much as she disliked having bodyguards.

She went to her study desk and spread out her books, sighing reluctantly as she sat down.

Darien ambled into her room and sat on the couch, leaning back. It was eight and so he wasn't allowed to leave her sight for another hour. Darien looked over towards Serena, who was staring at her books with little motivation.

They hadn't spoken a word to each other since they left the photo shoot. Darien had ridden in the front, while Serena sat in the back again. He figured that sitting in the back with her after what had happened would be too awkward for them.

Before they left, Amy reassured Darien and Serena that the photos they took with each other won't be published, because she had the film. Mark resentfully handed over the film to Amy after having a long talk with her.

Serena gave another sigh and put her head down on her books, shaking her head. "This is pointless," she said to herself.

Darien looked at her hunched over form and smiled. He remembered how she had put her arms around his neck, and how she had pressed her body to his, even though it was a forced situation. There were times when she looked so beautiful, it knocked the breathe right out of him. That was exactly how he felt at the photo shoot when he had to look into her eyes.

"Problem?" Darien asked from the couch, making Serena lift up her head and look over towards him.

"I have a crack load of homework and it's all due by tomorrow," she explained. She was trying to not let what happened earlier today be awkward for them.

Darien got up and walked over to her. He stopped right next to her and looked at her books she had spread across the desk. There was Anatomy, Pre-Calculus, English IV, and American Studies. Darien quirked up an eyebrow and said," Well… you better get started."

Serena smiled slightly. "Gee…thanks for your help," she said sarcastically.

"Anatomy's easy," he said with a shrug. "It's mainly memorization."

Serena frowned. "Not _everyone_ can be as smart as you, Shields."

Darien looked a little thoughtful and then nodded," You're right…. _Bryant_."

Serena smiled and rolled her eyes. "Then why don't YOU do my homework for me?" she asked, leaning back in her chair and tilting her head.

"Sorry, I don't let people _cheat_," Darien said with one of his smiles that made Serena's heart skip a beat.

Serena scrunched her mouth to the side, and then wittily said," It's not cheating… it's helping."

Darien chuckled and shook his head as he grabbed her Anatomy book. "Fine… I'll 'help'." He gestured for her to come join him in her little living room space. "So what exactly do you have to do?"

Serena sat in a couch across from him, crossing her legs and throwing a pillow into her lap. "I have a test tomorrow over the human muscles," she said with no enthusiasm and a bored expression on her face.

Darien opened her book and looked for a muscle diagram, which he found easily. _Ah_, he said once he looked at it,_ I remember this._ "All right," he began, putting the open book in his lap. "Name me the muscles you already know, and point to them," he instructed.

"How do I point to them?" she asked, looking perplexed.

Darien stuck his finger out and pointed to her. "Use yourself," he said simply.

Serena lifted an arm hesitantly and pointed to her upper arm and said," This is the triceps," she said in a dry voice and a dull face.

Darien nodded and told her to go on.

She then pointed to the lower part of her arm and said," And this is the biceps."

Darien nodded again. "Good," he said.

"And that's all I got," she said and put her chin in her hand.

Darien smiled and shook his head. "Come on… you barely even got started," he said.

Serena just shrugged.

"Fine," he said as he stood up. "I'll teach you, and you memorize. It's really not that hard," he said as he shuffled his feet around a little.

He pointed to his chiseled chest and said," This is the pectoralis major, otherwise known as the chest. You call it 'pecs'. Easy enough?" he asked, to which Serena responded with a nod. "Okay… now stomach muscles," he said, lifting his shirt up without much thought," The upper abs, along with the outer stomach muscle is known as external obliques. The lower portion of abs, and the inner stomach muscle, is the internal obliques," he said, pointing to his stomach. When he talked the muscle on his stomach flexed a little, not that Serena minded.

As he kept talking about what each muscle did, she got up and walked over to him, surprising him by running her hand lightly over his stomach. He stopped talking and looked down at her, his eyes filled with desire. Then he leaned in and-

"See what I mean?" Darien asked, putting his shirt back down and looking over at Serena, who seemed to have zoned out.

"Oh.. hmm?" she suddenly asked, snapping out of her fantasy.

Darien gave her a quizzical look, lifting up an eyebrow and smiling. "Got them memorized?" he asked.

Serena nodded blankly.

"Okay, then repeat all the major muscles I just went over," he said, turning around to take his seat again.

"Um… okay," she said as she pushed the pillow she had in her lap aside and stood up. "Triceps and biceps," she started over, pointing to her upper and loser arm. " Pectoralis major," she said, pointing to her chest, then blushing once she realized what she had just pointed at her boobs, but Darien didn't seem to notice. He was just nodding. She paused a minute and smiled to herself as she lifted up her shirt, exactly how he had done. _Time to seduce, _she thought. Her stomach was, of course, not defined as Darien's but she had a toned, taught stomach. "This," she said pointing to the upper part of her stomach," is the external obliques. And this," she said, running her hand down a little on her stomach," is the internal obliques."

Darien swallowed as she repeated everything he told her, running her fingers lightly over her stomach and making Darien fidget in the couch uncomfortably. He was trying very hard not to picture certain things, but he couldn't help it. She was so tempting right now he wanted to jump up and take her.

As soon as that thought bubbled up, Darien mentally slapped himself. _Distractions_, he told himself.

"You okay, Darien?" Serena asked, looking concerned, but at the same time a little amused.

Darien cleared his throat and nodded. "Great," he answered as she smoothed her shirt back in place.

Serena walked over to him and sat down next to him… a little too close for Darien. Their shoulders were touching.

"Let's see what else I need to know," she said in a quiet voice, leaning over and looking at the book that was now back on his lap. _Game. Set. Play,_ she thought with a smile.

After the photo shoot, Serena never tied her back up, instead she just let it all down. It was completely straight. She was also back in what she was wearing before the photo shoot; tank tops and jeans. Her hair spilled over her shoulders as and tickled Darien's arms as she leaned into him.

Darien held his breath as he felt her weight.

Serena pointed at something and said," You forgot to mention the rectus abdominis," she said, looking up to him, their faces a couple of inches apart.

Darien looked down at the diagram and saw the arrow that pointed to the rectus abdominis. It was the muscle just below the belly button. The lower most part of the stomach. When he turned his head to look at her, she was staring at him with a playful look in her eyes. Then… he suddenly realized what she was doing because she had never been this forward towards him before. _She's trying to get me to do something!_ He thought to himself as he stared at her. It was obvious because her eyes said it. _Is she… trying to get me fired?_ He asked himself. _Ding, ding,ding! _His conscious mocked him. _Well isn't it obvious? She never keeps a bodyguard longer then a week_, his conscious warned him. _Ever wander why?_ As these thoughts swirled in his head, Darien came up with a plan. Fight fire, with fire.

_It's working_, Serena thought happily. _He's totally falling for it. All he has to do is kiss me_.

"You want me, don't you?" Darien suddenly asked, his smile looking seductive.

Serena's eyes widened. "Excuse me?" she asked as she leaned away from him, startled by what he just said.

He put the book down and moved, crawling towards her. She had no choice but to lean back onto the chair, resting her head on the arm rest. She was trapped.

"You want me," Darien said again, his voice husky and low. " Come on, admit it. The quicker you confess, the faster we'll get to it…"

"G-get to what?" Serena stammered, her eyes looking frightened as she felt her heart race. _This was not supposed to happen!_

Darien grinned as he moved above her, resting a hand right next to her head to keep him leveled up, parallel to her. "You know," he whispered, bringing his face in close to her, his eyes looking dark.

Serena suddenly slipped from under him as she stumbled away. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said," but-"

"But what?" Darien asked, walking towards her, cornering her into a wall now, trapping her again with his arms on either side of her head.

Serena's breathing began to quicken as she pressed herself into the wall.

When Serena didn't say anything he leaned his face in as Serena inhaled sharply and closed her eyes.

"I," Darien whispered in her ear," am always one step ahead of you."

Serena's eyes snapped open.

He smirked and backed away from her. "Well, looks like it's about nine," he said normally, walking towards the door. "See you tomorrow."

Darien opened the door and slipped out, leaving a furious and dazed Serena in the room.

-----------------------

When Darien arrived in Serena's room the next morning, she would not look at him or talk to him. Her face looked stern as she grabbed her messenger bag and walked out of the room. Her attitude made Darien grin as he walked behind her, his hands in his pockets.

"Morning to you too," he said, his voice full of laughter.

Serena wanted to turn around and yell out some kind of comeback or profanity, but she held her tongue.

When they entered the elevator, Darien leaned against the side of it. "Come on, you don't even have a _right_ to be mad at me. You're just angry because I figured out your move," he said with one of his smirks.

Serena wanted nothing more then to slap that stupid grin right off his face. _Oh the NERVE of him!_ She thought.

When the elevator door opened, she quickly darted off to join her family for breakfast. Ken saw the angry expression on Serena's face, but decided not to ask. Instead, he went back to reading the morning newspaper as he said," Morning, sweetheart," like he always did.

Serena mumbled something along the same line and grabbed a piece of toast.

When Darien took his seat next to Andrew at the other end of the table, Andrew's eyebrows raised up in question.

"What?" Darien asked as he grabbed a cup of coffee and a bagel.

"You tell me," he said with a smile as he forked up some eggs.

Andrew had quickly become one of Darien's only other friend.

Darien just shrugged and slapped on some cream cheese. " Nothing. I'll tell you at school," he whispered.

Andrew nodded. "You do know that we sound like a couple of teenage girls right? 'I'll tell you at school'," he said in a girly voice.

Darien just laughed as he took a bite out of his bagel.

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High School for Darien was the exact same as it was the day before; boring. Not to mention, all the teenage girls didn't stop staring at him at all.

Ethan, however, did not wait by Serena's locker like he had the day before, nor did he eat lunch with her. Instead, he was huddled in a different group, eyeing her from afar with possessive eyes.

Darien had lunch with Andrew today again and he explained what happened the night before to Andrew just like he'd promised. Andrew got a big hoot out of it, elbowing Darien and saying," Good job!" _Yes… good job for now_, Darien thought as he smiled. He knew Serena would not give up that easily… especially now since her plan completely backfired. He was sure she'd come up with another one soon enough.

Serena played with her tray of food as she half-listened to what Raye, Mina, and Lita were telling her.

"Seriously, Serena… you've GOT to go to this party this weekend. It's the biggest of the year! Plus this is your Senior year and you haven't been to a single party," Mina declared, her eyes bright with determination.

Serena pushed her tray off to the side, not feeling hungry. "I don't know guys… I mean it's _just_ a party. You know I'm not into that scene. Plus, my dad would probably KILL me if I went to a party," Serena explained.

Lita entered the conversation," It's okay, Serena. I'm not really into the whole party thing either."

"But you're going, aren't you?" Mina asked, looking worried.

Lita shrugged. "If you want me to go THAT bad, then yeah. I'll go."

"What about you, Raye?" Mina turned and asked.

"Um… sure. I've got nothing better to do," Raye answered, flicking her dark hair off her shoulders.

Serena wanted to go to this party, but she knew her chances of going were one in a million. Her days were usually booked. And her grades were gradually turning on her for the worst. She needed all the extra time to study and focus on school.

"Please try, Serena," Mina begged, pouting her lips. "At least promise me you'll try."

Serena smiled and nodded. "I'll try. But I'm not making any promises," she said.

Mina smiled, happy at her answer. Then she turned and saw Ethan sitting at another table, stealing glances their way from time to time. "Oh god," Mina said as she turned back around, rolling an unbelieving eye. "Your boyfriend keeps looking over here."

Serena threw a casual glance towards Ethan, pretending like she didn't care. She'd been with Ethan for almost a year now and things had drastically changed for them. He'd been pressuring her to sleep with him the past couple of months but she kept turning him down. Now he became more irritable with her quicker and for stupid reasons. They seemed to always be in an argument, sometimes she didn't even know why they were fighting to begin with. Another thing was he is the jealous type. A guy could glance at her and he'd be up, starting a commotion. She was tired of it, but a part of her still wanted to be with him, and the other part didn't. She cared about him even if he had been treating her badly. He didn't treat her badly _all_ the time. Sometimes he was extremely sweet to her…

Ethan saw her look his way and smiled apologetically. He got up and walked over to her. "Can I talk to you?" he asked.

_And it's time to make-up_, Serena thought. It was routine in their relationship. She nodded and got up to follow him.

Darien saw and got up as well, excusing himself. He kept his distance, but kept an alert eye out.

Ethan and Serena walked out the cafeteria and around the corner. Darien stayed on the other side of the wall and listened in.

"Look, I'm sorry, Serena," Ethan's voice sounded gentle and genuine. "I just really want to spend time with you alone for once. I mean, lately you've been so busy you don't have time for _us_ anymore. I miss us… you know?" he said, moving close to her and gently stroking her arm.

Serena nodded, missing this side of him. This was the side of him that she liked. "I know," she answered, her eyes softening. "But you have to understand that I am busy. My life is a schedule. I can't cancel interviews or important meetings just so I can go to a party with you," she told him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as the wind blew. Her hair was down today and in soft curls.

Ethan nodded. "I understand, but I don't like it," he said, glancing away.

Serena smiled. "I don't like it either, but I promise you I'll try to attend this party, okay? I'll talk to my dad and my manager," she gave her word.

"Okay," he said with a smile. "So we're good?"

Serena grinned," We're good," she repeated, putting her arms around his neck as he leaned in to kiss her lips lightly.

Once it had gone quiet, Darien figured they were making out. He leaned against the wall as he waited for them to finish. _High School relationships are so overrated_, he thought.

After another three minutes, Serena and Ethan turned around the corner, holding hands, and walked back into the cafeteria, much to Darien's annoyance. _At least I'm getting paid for this_, he thought as he followed in afterwards.

----------------------

Serena was not in an interview for some kind of television talk show, only it was pre-recorded.

Darien stood off on the side of the wall as he watched Serena sit in front of large, hot light bulbs, and a black backdrop. She had her hair and make-up done, and she was looking very professional. Fashionable, yet professional. The hairdresser did one of those 'poof' things on the top of her head, tying half of it up to poof, and letting the rest fall down in silky glory. She was dressed in a cute classy black and white dress.

The interviewer's name was Kelly Thomas. She was a blonde haired, brown eyed woman in her early thirties. She sat on a high stool with her legs crossed. Her posture was perfect, and her smile was wide.

"So tell me, Serena," Kelly said in her 'interviewer' voice. "How much has your life changed since your father's been in office?"

Serena gave a sweet smile as she moved a little in her seat, her hands folded delicately in her lap. "Well, it's changed a lot, but we try to keep things normal. I still go to high school like regular students, and do my homework and stuff. It hasn't changed that much except for all the security," Serena said sweetly.

Kelly nodded, looking extremely interested. "How about your peers? Do they treat you like a celebrity?"

Serena nodded her head. "Oh no," she replied, waving her hand," They treat me like how they treat everyone else."

Kelly smiled and nodded, moving on. "Do you have a boyfriend?" Kelly said in a joking matter.

Serena laughed," Yes, yes I do, actually. His name's Ethan Meyer and we've been together for almost an entire year."

'Oh," Kelly squealed," Is there love in the air?"

Serena laughed again, bringing a hand to her mouth. " Love? Well I'm not sure, but who knows. Maybe in the future," she answered with a shrug.

Darien rolled his eyes as he listened. "Love my ass," he said under his breath.

The interview ended soon enough, and Serena walked around to thank everyone. This interview was to be aired tomorrow at seven.

When they walked out, Serena yawned. It was only a little after six and she was tired. She felt mentally and physically drained. Like if she were pushed any harder, she'd completely collapse.

Darien noticed Serena staggering a little as she yawned. She had to pause a minute to let her dizziness come to a halt before she walked again. He rushed to her side and held onto her arm as she fell slightly.

"Whoa," he said, steadying her. "You all right?"

Serena nodded and yanked her arm away from him. "I'm fine," she answered, walking again. "I just got a little dizzy is all."

Darien didn't believe her so he got in the back of the car with her to keep an eye out. Serena frowned when she saw him enter in the back with her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking bewildered.

Darien closed the door and turned to face her. "I'm sitting in the back to watch after you. What does it look like I'm doing?"

Serena stared at him with annoyance. "I told you that I was fine," she repeated herself, crossing her arms over her chest.

Darien shrugged.

"I don't need a damn babysitter," she exclaimed.

"Then I would suggest you stop acting like a child," Darien snapped as the car began to move.

Serena frowned, and then pouted. This was exactly the reason why she _hated_ bodyguards.

Darien ignored her facial expression and turned his gaze elsewhere. _Stupid immature teenager_, he thought as he stared aimlessly out the window. _This is going to be a long ride home_, he thought further as he quickly glanced down at his watch. It was going to be a good hour before they reached the White House again.

Serena stared angrily at Darien, letting the silence envelope them.

Darien could feel the heat of her stare and he turned to look at her. Her eyes with squinted with fury. "It's rude to stare," he said in mock tone.

Serena glared at him harder and turned her head away from him. She admitted it… she was acting a little childish, but she couldn't help it. The man drove her insane!

Darien suddenly shifted and lay down on the long limo chair, resting his hands behind his head.

_Oh sure… get comfortable in MY car… ass_, she thought to herself. "You can't do that," she complained.

"Why not?" Darien asked, looking up at the ceiling of the car.

"Because I said so," she said quickly.

Instead of sitting back up, Darien took an arm and covered his eyes with it, as if he was going to sleep.

Serena gaped at him. _He's not listening to me!_ "Get up," she said maddeningly, through gritted teeth.

"You're the President's daughter, not a royal princess," Darien said, not moving a muscle.

_Oh! I hate him_, she thought. She got up quietly and moved towards him, trying to keep her balance while the car moved. Since his eyes were covered, he didn't see her. She was going to PUSH him off of the chair if she had too!

Right when she leaned over to push him off, Darien lurched forward and grabbed a hold of her hands; startling her and making her fall over on top of him. She shrieked in surprise as she landed on him.

"Why are you so fucking stubborn?" Darien asked, still holding onto her wrists and ignoring the fact that she was on top of him.

Serena tried to pull away from him, but he was much stronger. "Let me go," she said frantically, squirming.

Her movement sent a jolt of pleasure shooting through him and he let her go, pushing her off of him quickly. She stumbled away from him, looking shocked and infuriated.

He sat up and ran a hand through his already disheveled hair.

She was rubbing her wrist tenderly from where he had gripped her, sitting across from him.

Darien inhaled and exhaled deeply. "I'm sorry if I hurt you," he mumbled.

Serena didn't look at him. She crossed her arms again and looked out the window. Her hair was a little messy from tumbling around and her face was red with anger.

He knew she was mad at him. He hadn't expected what happened to have… happened. He wasn't supposed to have _felt_ what he had felt. "I'm sorry," he said again after several minutes went by. "I didn't mean to grab you so hard or shove you away that hard either."

She was pissed off at him, and she was not going to say anything. Not a single word. "I'm fine." _Damn mouth…_ she thought. _Traitor!_

Darien looked surprised that she said something because he hadn't expected her too. _At least she responded_, he said. He smiled inwardly and straightened up. "Okay… good," he said.

It was quiet the rest of the ride home because somewhere along the way, Serena lay down and fell asleep.

--------------------

When Serena woke up, she found herself lying in her bed. She sat up confusedly. _Wait… I was in the limo last time_, she thought as she looked around. She glanced at the clock— 8:05 p.m. _What? _She looked around her room. That's when she saw him.

Darien had fallen asleep on her couch. When they had arrived at the White House, he carried her to her room, telling the guards to be quiet. He tried to wake her, but she wouldn't even stir, so he decided to just carry her up to her room and tell the President she was too tired for dinner.

Serena quietly got out of bed and walked over to Darien's slumped form. He looked adorable, with his bangs falling in his face and his lips slightly parted. She noticed he had long, gorgeous eyelashes, that were now closed together. His shirt came up a little from where he had turned, showing off a little stomach, but not much. She felt herself being pulled to him as she moved closer. She reached out a hand and lightly moved his hair out of his face, only having it fall back into place.

Here was a man she barely even knew… yet she felt completely safe around him. She found him sexy, enticing, and smart. She sometimes even looked forward to their random spats throughout the day. She even caught herself thinking, daydreaming, and fantasizing about him.

She couldn't seem to control her actions. Before she knew it, she leaned over and lightly brushed her lips over his. She pulled her face away from his to see if he'd wake, but he didn't budge. His breathing was still deep and heavy, his chest making a rhythmic rise and fall. She felt herself lean into him again, placing her lips once more on his, only this time, her lips stayed stationary on his instead of lightly brushing over it. His lips were soft, yet firm. She felt a familiar tingle shoot through her entire body from this one simple kiss. When she pulled away to look at him, his dark blue eyes were staring right back at her….

* * *

**MUWAHAHAHAHA! I am evil… and I leave you with suspense!**


	6. Afterwards

**A.N: **Hello fellow readers! I'm sorry I left you waiting at that cliffhanger… tehehehe! I like to make you all squirm sometimes.

This is my last update until a couple of days, I'm really sorry.

I know it's really short, but you all were DYING to know what happened afterwards so I did this. I'll update within another five days hopefully!

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Chapter 6:

Darien had woken up because he felt something pressed enticingly to his lips… something soft and electrifying. When his eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the soft glow of the room, he realized that Serena was the reason he had waken up. She was kissing him, and he didn't know why. His mind was spinning and he was dazed and confused. He felt her gently pull away from him as her eyes dreamily fluttered open and stared down into his unreadable eyes.

Serena felt her heart skip a beat when she saw he was awake. Without thinking, she leaned in once more and placed her lips upon his, her thoughts clouded with desire.

Darien tensed up at first as he felt her lean on top of him. He heard her give a pleading moan, and then something inside of him snapped—he started kissing her back. He opened his mouth a little and traced his tongue teasingly on her lips, begging for entrance which she quickly complied.

When she parted her lips, Darien's tongue went swiftly in her mouth to taste her as she shyly stroked her own tongue against his, moaning and causing Darien to groan back in return.

Their kiss was not gentle and sweet, instead, it was rushed and sensual. Darien's hands began to wander over her body as Serena brought her hands into his hair and rested her entire body on top of his. Darien groaned again as he felt her shift and brush against his forming arousal.

Serena didn't understand what she was experiencing. Her mind wasn't in control anymore; it was her body… her lust. She felt herself react to his every touch as he slowly brought his hand under her shirt to touch her bare skin. She felt her body go aflame, and something deep in her stomach tightened with want and desire. She craved him, she wanted more of him.

Suddenly, in one quick movement, Darien turned them around, making her lay on her back while he was on top. His mouth abruptly left hers to make a trail of fiery kisses down her neck, suckling and nibbling on it, making Serena arch up unexpectedly into him as she gasped. She was slowly making Darien go insane.

When he felt her hands move under his shirt, sending a tingling sensation down his spine, he suddenly realized what was about to happen. She moved her legs again, making it press into his erection and causing pleasure to shoot through him.

"Ah, FUCK," he suddenly yelled as he had enough self control to pull away from Serena, breathing heavily.

Serena sat up, baffled and filled to the rim with unexplainable need. Her face was flushed; her shirt was a little mussed, as well as her hair. Her breathing was labored, and her heart was pounding. She looked at Darien, her eyes looking dark and her lips swollen.

When Darien looked at her, he saw the same reflection of want staring right back at him. His hair was ruffled, and his face was also flushed. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he sat away from her, bringing a hand through his damp hair. He couldn't believe what he had almost done… what he had almost jeopardized! _Shit_, Darien thought again as he glanced away from Serena's heaving form.

He stood up, feeling the constriction of his jeans as he walked to go grab his blazer that he threw on the other couch before he had fallen asleep. "I…. I have to go," he said, his voice low and husky.

Serena frowned in confusion as she got up. "What? You still have another thirty-five minutes," she said.

Darien took one step away from her, not trusting himself. "I…. what I did was wrong," he started explaining," I can't be in here right now," he finished as he started walking around the couch.

"You weren't the only one," she said, making him stop where he was. "I started it," she said truthfully.

Darien whipped around. "Wait… you didn't happen to do that because you're wanting to get rid of me, were you?" His mind started to race with thoughts, still not thinking things clearly. " You were trying to get me fired! Waiting until my guard was down," he accused, starting to look angry.

Serena shook her head as her eyes widened. "No! I wasn't… I mean that wasn't my intention."

"Then what _was_ your intention?" Darien asked, walking towards her. "You've been wanting to get me fired since day one," he practically yelled, his voice loud and booming.

Her heart sank when he said this and she didn't know why. She shook her head again," No… well yes, but this is different. I didn't kiss you because I wanted to get you fired," she confessed.

Darien stopped several feet away from her, looking in her eyes. "Then why did you do it?" he asked, not believing her.

"B-because," she stuttered, not wanting to say what she thought out loud.

"Because what?" Darien asked, his brows furrowing together as his grip on the blazer tightened in frustration.

Serena glanced down at her feet and tucked a strand of hair nervously behind her ear. "Because I thought you looked cute," she said quickly, then blushed with embarrassment.

Darien's face immediately softened for a second, but then was replaced by a look of regret. "This can't happen," he said, his voice gentler now. "This wasn't _supposed_ to happen and it never will happen again," he reassured. "I'm paid to protect you and I have your father's trust, and I nearly destroyed that."

"I wanted it to happen," Serena said, her eyes looking sad. She had no idea where she was getting all of this, but she knew she was telling the truth.

Darien glanced away from Serena's hurt expression, not wanting to face it. "Well it's not going to happen anymore," he said again, dodging what she had confessed. "I'm going to turn in early," he told her. He turned around and walked out the door, leaving her alone in her room.

Serena didn't know why, but she felt like her heart had just been broken… shattered into a million pieces with no way of putting it back together. She slumped back onto the couch as she felt inferior tears prying to spill out, but she wouldn't let them. She wasn't going to cry over something that didn't make sense to her; something she couldn't understand. So instead, she breathed in deeply, forcing the tears to evaporate and then crawled back into bed, hugging a pillow tightly; trying to understand everything that had just happened.

--------------------

Darien walked quickly to his room and shoved the door open. He was furious with himself! _How could I have been so careless?_ He yelled at himself, kicking the foot of his bed and throwing his blazer away from him. He paced around his large suite-like room, one hand on his hip while the other ran through his hair subconsciously, trying to calm his nerves down.

He hadn't been involved with a woman in so long, he had forgotten how it felt. He was always working and not letting anything distract him… until today. He had broken his own promise today for something that could have ended his entire career.

_I need a cold shower_, Darien thought as he finally stopped walking around and sat on his bed, pinching the crook of his nose with his thumb and finger while resting his elbows on his leg, hunching over slightly. He could still feel his arousal pressed uncomfortably in his jeans.

He stood up and went into his bathroom to take a shower. A long, cold shower to clear his thoughts.

As he let the cold water run over his body, he began to think. He rested a hand on the tiled wall, leaning onto it while he let the water course over him.

_I was attracted to her since day one,_ he thought as he closed his eyes, remembering his initial reaction when he first met her. _She's gorgeous, anyone with eyes can see that_, he said to himself. He had to admit that he was surprised when she admitted that she had wanted to kiss him, that she thought he was 'cute'.

He absently shook his head. _I can't think like this. This wasn't supposed to happen_. He blamed himself for letting it go as far as it had gone. He let his desires get the best of him.

Awhile later he turned the shower off and stepped out, feeling somewhat refreshed. He had decided that he wasn't going to let a girl get in the way of his future. Something he always told himself.

This time, when he said it, he wasn't so sure.


	7. The Song

**A.N: Sorry it took so long….. DON'T HATE ME!**

**I wrote as fast as I could!**

**I got a job! Wooooo**

**But that means that my updates are going to be a lot more spaced out then it usually is. I'm sorry, again! **

** Tell me what you think of this chapter.  
**

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Chapter 7: The Song

Darien woke up to the buzzing of his alarm clock. He groggily flung the sheets away from him and got up, dragging himself into the bathroom to get prepared.

He figured today was going to be a little awkward between him and Serena, but then things always seemed awkward between them before anything had happened. He wondered how she was going to act today, and how he should act.

Finally dressed and ready, he headed out of his room, and entered Serena's room. She was, like always, reading some kind of novel, waiting to be escorted down to breakfast.

Today she was dressed in a white skirt that came down to mid-thigh, showing off her wonderful legs. She had on a pink, lacy camisole and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but leaving out some wisps of hair. She suddenly glanced up and saw Darien, who was wearing trousers that fit him perfectly, a buttoned up shirt and a blazer jacket thrown on top, as expected. He left the top three buttons unfinished, and his hair was slightly gelled. Serena marked her place, set the book down, grabbed her bag, and walked out.

_Figured_, Darien thought when she passed him without uttering a single word. He followed her from behind, and, without thinking, looked her up and down. He noticed how her hips swayed gracefully as she walked, how her waist looked tiny and curved, and how long and creamy her legs looked. Darien caught himself thinking inane thoughts and groaned silently.

Serena reached the elevator and pressed the button, patiently waiting as it chimed and then swung open. She stepped in and so did Darien. She pressed a button and leaned against the side, not looking at anything in particular, and especially, not looking at Darien. As the elevator moved down, the uncomfortable atmosphere seemed to intensify. Suddenly, Serena asked," So what's going to happen?"

Darien looked at her, a little surprised that she'd spoken to him at all. "What do you mean?"

"Between us," she further explained, looking straight ahead with no expression.

Darien shrugged, furrowing his eyebrows together. "Nothing's going to happen between us."

Serena nodded, still not looking at him. "So we pretend as if nothing's going on between us, then-"

"Nothing _is_ going on between us," he answered, his face starting to look a little irritated. "I told you already, last night was a mistake."

The door opened and Serena walked out without a response.

-----------------

Breakfast was more quiet then usual. Serena's family, including herself, seemed to have a lot going on. As she sat and ate silently, she remembered to ask her father about the party.

"Oh, dad," she began, putting her fork down. "There's a party this weekend and I was wondering if I could go… since I haven't gone to any parties this year and it's my Senior year and all."

Ken put his newspaper down and took off his glasses to look at Serena, showing her that she had his full attention. He frowned a little bit. "Who's party is it?"

"I'm not sure. It's just a high school party," Serena shrugged. "Please, dad?"

Ken looked at Irene to see what she thought. Irene smiled and gave a nod. Ken turned back, sighing. "Fine… just this one party. But there will be people with you, and if I find out one single thing that went wrong at this party, you are going to regret it."

Serena grinned, almost squealing as she reached over to hug her father. "Thank you, dad!" She kissed him quickly on the cheek and got up to head to school.

--------------------

"Wow… I can't believe your dad was that easy," Raye said as she walked beside Serena down a hall full of people.

Serena looked serious as she nodded. "Me neither! But I'm pretty sure he's not going to be making it _that_ easy. There's gonna be security everywhere… wouldn't that ruin the party?"

Raye shrugged as she clutched the binders in her arms harder. "People can get over it. You haven't attended a party in FOREVER!"

Serena smiled and nodded again.

Behind Serena, Darien trudged along, passing unfamiliar faces. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd been catching himself thinking about the heated kiss with Serena occasionally throughout the day. When he saw Serena in the arms of her boyfriend, he felt his lips tug into a frown and he felt a tiny twinge of something… the feeling wasn't exactly the feeling of 'jealously', more like the _beginning_ of the feeling of jealously. He didn't feel like he wanted to hurt her boyfriend or anything, he felt… indifferent.

As he half-listened to what they were saying, he groaned at the thought of attending some stupid high school party. He'd be a mere floating body amongst the mass of drunk or tipsy teenagers. Thinking about the party already annoyed him. He didn't like dealing with obnoxious kids.

"Are you going, Darien?" Raye asked, scattering Darien's thoughts.

He shrugged his shoulder and gave her a half-hearted smile. "Do I have a choice?"

Serena merely ignored him like she had been the past several hours. She wouldn't even acknowledge him or glance in his direction. She was still fuming about the aftermath of their kiss. Of course it was her fault, but she felt so utterly rejected… almost hurt. She was looking forward to the party and looking forward for Darien to make a slip-up so he'd be gone.

Raye grinned at his bored voice. "You never know! It could be fun. Something entertaining always happens at parties," she pointed out, slowing her pace slightly to fall in step with Darien's and letting Serena walk ahead by herself.

Darien made a face as he shook his head. "I've been over high school before I even attended high school. Being around drunk, thrashing kids is not in the least bit appealing for me."

"So you don't drink?"

"No, I drink. I just don't drink carelessly and recklessly," he pressed.

Raye rolled her eyes but maintaining a playful smile at the same time. She heard the warning bell and darted of, saying a quick 'bye' and a flick of the wrist.

Serena didn't rush off like everyone else around her. She walked long strides, but she was in no hurry to get to her classes.

Darien wanted to say something just to break the tension between them, but he didn't know what exactly _to_ say. Just when he was about to blurt something random out, Ethan intervened.

"Hey, babe," Ethan said as he sided by Serena, placing an arm around her waist as they walked.

Serena smiled as she brought her arms around his waist in return and leaned into him as they walked. "Hi," she replied back.

As they talked to one another, Darien averted his eyes and jammed his hands into his pockets. _This guy is getting more annoying the more I see him_, he thought frustratingly.

Soon enough, Ethan tore away from Serena's side and trotted to his class as Serena entered her own, the bell finally ringing as she entered her last class for the day.

Darien settled in the back, sitting on an empty chair that the teacher had put out for him. As the teacher began to lecture, Darien heard a small 'beep' in his right ear, knowing immediately that it was the Secret Services.

"Photo shoot and interview has been cancelled for the day," a deep male voice echoed in his ear.

Darien pulled on his blazer to bring the microphone close to his mouth and whispered," Got it."

_Crap_, he thought as the man beeped off on the earphone. _That means we're gonna have to be alone, which makes things even more awkward_. Darien had been hoping for people to fill in Serena's time so the silence between them wouldn't be so annoyingly unbearable. He knew things would eventually go back to normal, or whatever normal was between them before, but the process of getting things back to normal seemed to far away. _Why is this bugging me?_ He pondered as he stared at the back of Serena's blonde head.

So he admitted he found Serena achingly attractive, but that didn't mean he would do anything about that. She was his _job _for crying out loud. She was supposed to be someone that was intangible and unattainable for him, which she was, metaphorically speaking. Last night was a complete different story. Last night she _was_ and had been tangible and attainable.

Before Darien knew it, the bell had already rung as kids started shuffling out the door. He abruptly stood up and walked out the class, spotting Serena a few feet ahead of him. _Thank God school's over for the day_, he thought a little happier. Then he frowned; he still had the rest of the day with her.

----------------------

The ride home was a moment to be cherished. They had no room for awkwardness because they were both sitting in different compartments of the limousine.

Serena sat in the back, lying down across the large seat as she listened to her I-POD, closing her eyes and letting the music drown out any thought. She would occasionally hum or sing along, bobbing her head or drumming on her stomach.

Darien sat in the front with Kyle, the limo driver. They talked about family, friends, and sports. Darien laughed as Kyle told him stories about his little girls and wife. At the mention of family, Darien suddenly remembered that today was his mother's birthday. _Oh shit_, he thought frantically. He had never forgotten his mother's birthday before, not once.

Kyle looked over at Darien because he suddenly fell extremely silent. "Something wrong?" Kyle asked.

Darien nodded. "Today's my mom's forty-eighth birthday and I completely forgot!"

Kyle smiled and shrugged," So why not go visit her right now? We have time since the plans for the day has been cancelled for Miss Bryant."

Darien looked over at Kyle and smiled back, nodding. "That's a good idea! A surprise visit! But… I haven't gotten her anything."

"She doesn't need presents. A parent is happy just to see their child."

Darien nodded again. "Should we tell Serena?"

"Let's just surprise her too," Kyle said.

Darien grinned. He wondered how Serena would react. He knew his mother would be completely thrilled that he brought people over, showing her that he really did have a social life… sort of.

And so, Kyle turned the car around and drove to Paula Shield's house.

----------------------

When Serena felt the car slow down, she turned off her I-POD and put it away in her bag, sitting up and gathering her things. When she was about to open the door, someone jerked the car door open for her.

"Hello," Darien said with a guarded smile. "Change of plans," he started to explain, helping Serena out.

She got out and looked around at her unfamiliar surroundings. "Where are we?" she asked, speaking to him for the first time since the morning.

"We are at my mother's house. Today's her birthday and I've completely forgotten, so Kyle took me to visit her for awhile… I hope that's all right," Darien explained, running a hand through his hair.

Serena looked at him for a moment and then nodded. "It's okay. It's her birthday, she has a right to see her son," Serena said. "Should I just stay in the car and wait, then?"

Darien shook his head," No! You should come in, she'd be more than happy to meet new people."

Serena looked unsure at first, glancing away from his pleading eyes as she thought about it. This meant she'd have to talk to him, even though she didn't want too… but she'd feel bad afterwards about not meeting Darien's mother on her birthday. "Fine," she said as she walked around the car.

Darien, Serena, and Kyle made their way up to the door together, feeling a little bit anxious and uncomfortable at the same time. Darien pushed the doorbell and waited.

It took several seconds before he heard footsteps behind the door, and then the sound of someone unlocking it. Soon, the door swung open, revealing a very surprised and lovely lady.

"Oh," she almost screamed in shock, throwing her arms around her son. "Darien! I wasn't expecting to see you today."

Serena couldn't help but smile. She could tell how close they were and how much Darien loved his mother and vice versa.

Darien chuckled as he pulled away from his mother's embracing arms. "Well we came to surprise you! This is Kyle Hanley, he's the limousine driver, and this is Serena-"

"I know who she is, silly," Paula said as she playfully slapped Darien on his arm. "Please, everyone come in! It's so nice to meet you! Oh… I look so awful. If I would have known I'd have visitors I would have made myself up," she smiled as she ushered everyone into the house.

Everyone quickly settled into the small, but comfortable living-room. Darien stood next to his mother while Serena lounged on the couch. Kyle sat in a comfortable recliner chair.

"You have a lovely home," Serena said politely with a genuine smile.

Paula smiled and thanked her. "Lots of memories in this little house," Paula said, her eyes twinkling as she looked around the room before quickly adding," Would any of you like something to drink? Oh heavens, where are my manners?" she said sporadically, rushing into the kitchen.

Kyle and Darien chuckled as Serena stood up. "I'll help you, Mrs. Shield's," she offered.

"Oh no you will not," Paula said, poking her head around the door. "You are guests in my house. If anyone should be offering to help, it should be my lazy son over there," she eyed Darien with seriousness, her tone teasing. "And please, don't call me Mrs. Shield's… I prefer Paula," she said before ducking away again.

Darien made a face but made his way to the kitchen, making Serena giggle slightly and Kyle laugh.

"I like her," Kyle said to Serena once they were alone.

Serena grinned and nodded. "So do I."

In the kitchen, Paula was boldly grabbing cups while Darien opened the fridge and took out her homemade punch.

"She's beautiful," Paula suddenly said, obviously talking about Serena. "Even more so in person then on television."

Darien looked at his mother and walked over, setting the punch on the counter as he smiled, but not responding.

Paula headed to the freezer and opened it to get ice out while Darien stood by the tray of cups.

"You two would make a lovely couple," Paula pressed, looking sly.

Darien rolled his eyes. "Mom… she's the President's daughter… she's my job."

Paula shrugged," I was just saying," she muttered as she threw a couple of ice cubes in his glass as Darien poured the punch into it.

When they were finished and Paula picked up the tray to reenter the living-room, she turned around quickly to look up at Darien. "Thank you, sweetheart," she said in a soft, loving voice. "You have made my day."

-----------------------

They spent the rest of the evening sharing stories and laughing. Paula was the belle of the ball. She and Serena even had time to make chocolate chip cookies while Kyle and Darien turned on the TV to watch a game.

When the cookies were done, everyone reunited in the living-room to munch on the mouth-watering treat, talking again.

When they left, Paula put the cookies into zip lock baggies for all three of them to take home. She made Kyle and Serena promise to come visit her again before they left, giving each of them a tight, motherly hug.

On the ride home, Serena reflected on her time spent with Paula. She felt such respect and admiration for Darien's mother. Paula was such a fighter, such a survivor. Looking into her eyes, Serena could see the wisdom and the pain it took for her to get to where she was. And she ardently cared and was kind to everyone she met. She had such a spark and charm to her, it was hard for anyone to dislike Paula.

It also showed that she loved her son more than life itself. The way she told her stories about him when he was younger, and the way she looked at Darien; proud and content.

Serena thought about a story Paula told Serena about Darien when he was younger. The story was so adorable, Serena laughed heartily and 'awed' :

_So his second grade teacher was telling them that drinking and driving was bad. Heavens knows why she would tell seven year olds such a thing! Lectured to them about it and telling them it was illegal and all that. So when I picked him up from school, I had a cup of coffee in my hands. He gasped and yelled,"Mom! You're drinking and driving!" The look on his face was priceless. He looked so horrified, like I had just betrayed him. _

Serena smiled at the thought of a seven year old Darien yelling at his mother. Then she remembered another story Paula told her:

_Him and his father went to the country one time and when they got back, Darien told me that he wanted to be poor. I asked him why and he said," Rich people have a swimming pool, but poor people have a whole river!" Oh, it was so cute…_

Serena laughed to herself at the thought of that… it was true. Children and their innocence were so adorable! _Too bad he's such an ass now,_ she thought as the felt the car tug to a stop. She grabbed her belongings and the zip lock bag full of soft chocolate chip cookies.

Darien held the door open for her and they made their journey up to their room, saying 'goodbye' to Kyle before they entered.

Things between them seemed to revert back to the tension and awkwardness it had before.

As Serena walked, she quickly glanced up at him and said," I had fun," quietly, almost inaudible.

Darien turned his head and looked at her, his face looking a little surprised. "I'm glad," he replied. "Thanks for coming in. I can tell my mom enjoyed it. It's been awhile since she'd had any visitors come, with the exception of me," he said with smile.

"I like your mom, a lot," Serena confessed.

Darien grinned and shook his head. "She's a hoot," he said as they entered the elevator to go up to her room.

Once inside, the silence blanketed around them again. Darien shifted on his feet apprehensively. When the door opened again, it felt like it had been an eternity.

They walked quietly to her room.

Serena walked quickly over to her stereo and put in a CD of The Fray just to have some noise.

It took a couple of seconds, but then the song came on:

_There are certain people  
You just keep coming back to  
She is right in front of you  
You begin to wonder  
Could you find a better one  
Compared to her now she's in question  
And all at once  
The crowd begins to sing  
Sometimes the hardest thing  
And the right thing are the same_

Darien went and took a seat on the couch just as the chorus began:

_Maybe you want her  
Maybe you need her  
Maybe you started to compare  
To someone not there  
Looking for the right one  
You line up the world to find  
Where no questions cross your mind  
But she won't keep on waiting  
For you without a doubt  
Much longer for you to sort it out_

Serena sat down at her desk and began to study, while Darien listened to the song, suddenly feeling like it was actually _speaking_ to him.

When the song ended, he shook the feeling off and looked at Serena as she jotted something down in her notebook.

"_She is right in front of you…" _ the words of the song hummed in Darien's head. "_Maybe you want her, maybe you need her..._"


	8. Ken

A.N: Sorry it took so long!

I am so freakin' busy now, plus my Microsoft word wasn't working for awhile. But hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 8: Ken

Friday night Darien got to leave Serena's room three hours early, by the President's request. He was going to be prompted about the party tomorrow night.

Darien walked down the long hallways of the White House, his destination being the Oval office. He and Serena were back to their silent stage, only talking to each other if it was necessary. There was no hostility, just awkwardness.

When Darien neared two white doors, there was an area just outside where Joanna, the secretary, sat behind her desk. She looked up expectantly as Darien neared and smiled.

"Good evening, Agent Shields," she said happily, shuffling some papers aside.

Darien smiled back and greeted her as well.

"Go ahead and go in. He's been expecting you," she said joyfully.

Darien nodded," Thanks, Joanne."

When Darien entered, Ken was sitting behind his desk, reading something with full concentration. His forehead wrinkled and his eyes looked deadly serious. He didn't even seem to notice that Darien had come in. Ken suddenly sat up straighter in his chair, took off his glasses and pinched the crook of his nose with a sigh.

"Um… should I come back another time?" Darien asked, making Ken look up at him for the first time.

Ken dropped his hands and shook his head. "No, no. Come have a sit. I have a few things to go over with you for this party Serena's going too," he said as he shuffled some of his papers off to the side.

Darien nodded and quickly walked to the chair in front of Ken's desk. As he got himself situated, Ken took some things out of a drawer and put it in front of him. One was a small black device, it looked like a sidekick phone, and the others were two small pins, and an ear piece.

"Now I'm sure you know that there will be guards everywhere on the premises. Remember that no cameras of any sort are to be seen at this party. If you see a kid with a camera, you take it from them. This, of course, is for publicity reasons.

"Now what I have in front of me is for you, only. This little computer looking device is a tracker, it goes with Serena's little White House charm I got her for the bracelet. We got the layout of where the party is in here," he waved the tracker around," so you'll know exactly where she is every step of the way. Now that you have this, you don't have to worry about where she is all the time. Of course that doesn't mean that she's allowed to leave your sight. This," Ken picked up the two small pins," is for you and Serena. They're microphones. The earpiece is also for Serena. Now these two microphones correspond with each other. I'm sure she'll eventually take the earpiece off, so your microphone can automatically turn on hers without her knowing, and you could listen in on her surroundings and what she's saying. But only do that if necessary. The microphone is also a camera. On your tracker there is a button that can reverse between seeing where she is, and seeing who she's talking too. One press and you can see what she's seeing, but again, only do that if it is necessary."

Darien nodded. _All this for a party?_ He thought.

Ken got up and walked around to Darien. "I'm going to show you how this tracker works," he turned it on. "Now, you see the red dot? That's Serena, and it shows me that she's in her room. Easy enough?"

"Yes, sir."

"At the party, everyone is going to be checked by security before they can enter. They will also be stamped. Once stamped, they show up on the tracker and everybody else's color is blue. Your color will be green. It's just going to be easier for you to tell how close you are to her. Going on," Ken said as he handed Darien the tracker," the only Secret Services allowed inside the party, is you and Andrew. Sam won't be attending the party so more than likely, he'll just be home all day, so I've asked Andrew to help you. He does not have a tracker, but you two can reach each other through your earpieces and microphones. We've channeled it to where if you press on your pin once, it goes to Andrew and if you press it twice, it goes to the Secret Services outside." Ken handed Darien everything else. " I know this is a lot to take in, and it seems like too much just for a party, but one can never be too careful."

Darien simply nodded.

Ken gave him a smile as he took his seat again. "The tracker is good if you are within a 50 mile radius from her. Well… I think that is all. Do you have any questions?"

"No," Darien stood up. "I think I understand."

Ken gave a chuckle and stood up as well, extending his hand to Darien. "Have fun tomorrow, and good luck. You're fortunate you've lasted this long," Ken winked.

Darien laughed. "Well, I don't go without putting up a fight."

"My kind of man," Ken grinned as he walked Darien to the door. "Oh, if you will drop by Serena's room and explain to her about the microphone and earpiece. And would you also tell her that dinner tonight is at 8?"

Darien nodded. "No problem, sir. Good night."

"Good night. And take care of my little girl," Ken added.

-------------------------------

Serena heard a soft knock on her door so she sat up in bed. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's Darien," she heard his deep, handsome voice echo through her door.

Serena sighed as she hopped off her bed and walked to the door to let him in. She was in her pajamas and her hair was all let down. When she opened the door, he was standing a little off to the side, looking beautiful as always. He was wearing a blue buttoned up shirt with a black blazer thrown on top, black trousers and shoes. His hair always fell to his eyes, and Serena sometimes had to fight the urge to go up to him and push it out of the way and run her fingers through his locks.

She walked back into the room and sat back on her bed after she opened the door for him. When she picked up her book, he had already made his way to her side.

"Do you need something?" Serena asked in an irritated voice, putting her book back down.

Darien's dark blue eyes met Serena's and she felt her heart suddenly beat faster. "Yes," he said coolly. "I have a few things I have to give you. It's your dad's rules."

Serena tore her eyes away from his and glanced away quickly to regain some control of her beating heart. "What is it?"

Darien reached into his pocket and withdrew a pin shaped as a snowflake, and a nude earpiece. "This is for you to wear during the party. The snowflake is actually a microphone," Darien explained, leaving out the part that it was also a camera. He also left out the part about him having a tracker.

"I'm not wearing it," Serena said when he was through explaining.

Darien shrugged. "Too bad, because you have too. He let you go to the party so you have to abide by his rules."

Serena frowned. "It's not even a party anymore! Security's gonna be everywhere!"

"Yes, but they're not going to be 'inside' the party. The only people that are allowed inside the actual party are me and Andrew," Darien told her.

Serena took a strand of her hair and started to play with it. "Yeah, but once they see that they're gonna be searched before they can enter the party, they're not gonna want to come."

"I doubt that," Darien said, still standing next to her bed. "You guys are teenagers; you'd do anything it takes to get into a party."

Serena frowned again.

"Well, I'm gonna go to my room now so I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and dinner's at eight," Darien said as he walked out her door.

When he was out of her sight, she let herself fall backwards onto her bed, bouncing a little as she landed. _Stupid, worthless heart_, she thought as she felt her heartbeat begin to slow back to normal. _All he has to do is look at me and I turn into jello_. She scrunched up her nose and turned around on her bed, looking at the microphone and the earpiece Darien had put on her bed. _I wonder…_ she thought as she stuck the earpiece in her ear and pressed on the snowflake.

She heard a strange beeping noise. "I wonder how this works…" Serena said as she studied her snowflake.

"Yes?" she suddenly heard Darien's voice fill her right ear.

Her eyes widened as she sat up in bed. "Oh… I'm sorry. I was just seeing how it works," she said as she talked into the snowflake pin.

"Well… I guess you know now," Darien responded. "Any other questions?"

_God… even his voice is sexy_. "No," she answered. "What are you doing?" she suddenly asked.

There was a pause before he answered. "I'm taking of my shoes right now. I'm about to go take a shower. Why? I thought you weren't talking to me"

"I am too talking to you," Serena said defensively, pouting.

"Wrong. You only talked to me if you _had_ too."

Serena took a strand of hair and started to twirl it around her finger. "What am I doing right now, huh?"

"Talking to me, but there's a barrier. It doesn't count," he said.

Serena heard some ruffling noises, sounding like he was taking off his jacket with the pin still being attached on it. "Hold on a sec," she heard him mumble.

A minute later he came back on. "Okay. You there?"

"Yeah," Serena responded, laying back down on her bed , keeping the snowflake pin close by her mouth. _It's like talking on the phone_.

"Like I was saying, this doesn't count because I'm not face-to-face with you," Darien explained.

Serena was quiet for awhile before she gained enough courage to say," It's awkward when I see you in person. Especially knowing what happened with us the other night and having to _pretend_ like it never happened."

Now it was Darien's turn to be quiet. Serena heard him give a sigh. "I'm not 'pretending' like it never happened because it did happen. I just don't want what happened to affect us in any way. And obviously having to 'pretend' like it never happened is actually affecting us after all because we haven't spoken more then a few words to each other since after my mom's birthday," he said, sounding a little unhappy or irritated… Serena couldn't decide which one.

"So, what? You want me to talk to you now?"

"If you want too," Darien's voice said gently," But that's what I'm trying to say. I just want things to get back to normal between us."

Serena gave a small giggle. "Normal? And what _is_ normal between us? Me trying to find a way to get you fired and you trying to find a way out of it?"

"If that's what normal was for us, then yeah," Darien responded. Serena could tell he was probably smiling.

"Okay, deal. You better keep your guard up tomorrow at the party then because I could _easily_ have you fired," Serena threatened jokingly.

Darien laughed heartily. "Looking forward to it. But I highly doubt anything's going to happen."

Serena shrugged," You never know."

"Oh, contraire," Darien joked," I _do_ know. But I'm gonna go take a shower now so I'll just see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Serena said, feeling a wave of disappointment. She was actually having fun with Darien.

"Good night, Serena," Darien said, and there was a short beeping noise, and he was gone.

-----------------------------

During dinner, Ken and Irene lectured Serena about the party, while Sam smiled mockingly at her.

Serena noticed that her father's eyes were looking more tired then usual; this made her worry. He had heavy bags underneath his eyes now.

Irene, on the other hand, was looking quite jubilant and fresh, but Serena could tell that her mother also noticed that Ken was looking weary and worn-out.

"Dad, don't worry about me! I'm going to behave," Serena reassured her father as she forked up some mashed potatoes.

Ken nodded as he picked up a glass of water. "Okay! I'm taking your word for it," he responded, giving her an exhausted smile.

Serena caught her mother's eye quickly, and Irene returned it with a sad face before she turned to Ken. "Honey," Irene said as she placed her hand lovingly on Ken's. "You've been working too hard. Why don't we take a vacation to Camp David for awhile?"

Ken frowned," Irene… You know I can't take time off while we're in Red Alert. What would America think of me? I can't possibly abandon things right now; we still have to have some kind of negotiation with North Korea."

Irene nodded and sighed loudly. "I'm sure 'America' will understand, Ken. You look so exhausted and lifeless! Everybody deserves a break every now and then."

"No. Not everybody," Ken said as he picked up his fork," Not the President."

"Dad," Sam chimed in, looking serious," Please? For us?"

Serena turned and looked at her father, nodding in agreement with Sam. "I won't go to the party, then! We can just take a week off and go to Camp David."

Ken looked at his children, as if he was considering it for a moment… but just for a moment. "No. You all are being ridiculous! I am fine. Being tired comes with the package of being the President."

Irene shook her head, looking as if she was about to cry. "You haven't come to bed in nearly three days… have you even slept at all?"

Ken started to look agitated now, losing his appetite. "I sleep when I can," he said a little too forcibly, making Irene look down at her plate.

Serena frowned when she saw the hurt look on her mother's face. "Dad… can you not understand that we care about you? Do you think we _like_ to see you like this?"

Ken sighed as he ran a hand over his face. "I do not have _time_… I've got to figure out something before we end up in disaster," he said, almost to himself.

"Are you talking about 'we' as a family, or 'we' as the United States?" Irene asked, her eyes softening.

Abruptly, Ken stood up and placed his dinner towel on his half-eaten plate of food. "I'm talking about both, Irene," he said and walked away from the table.

--------------------

Serena and Sam had to comfort their teary-eyed mother for over thirty minutes while she wailed about her husband not getting enough sleep and how him becoming President was the worst mistake of their lives.

"_It's like we're a broken family!" _ she cried into Sam's shoulder as he cooed her gently, Serena next to her whispering encouraging words.

When they made sure their mother was okay, they headed upstairs to bed.

Serena noticed that Sam had grown another inch or two. _I wonder why I haven't noticed_, she thought sadly as he walked next to her, his hands in his pockets as his turquoise eyes rimmed with anger.

"I hate this," he said, turning to Serena to look at her. "I hate what's happening to our family."

Serena glanced down at the ground as they kept walking. "We've got to figure something out, Sam. Dad can't keep doing this; he'll drive himself to the brink of insanity."

Sam nodded as he stared ahead, his eyebrows furrowing together seriously.

"Go to sleep, okay? We'll talk about this some more later," Serena said, touching her brother on the shoulder.

Sam gave her a weak smile and nodded, turning to go to his room. "Night, Sere."

"Night, Sam," Serena responded as she walked towards her door.

Once inside her room, Serena fell to the floor and cried. She cried for her father, she cried for her mother, she cried for Sam, and she cried for herself. They were tears of anger, sorrow, resentment, and guilt, all mixed together. The next thing she knew, she woke up to a new day.

-----------------------

**A.N: For those of you who don't know what Camp David is, it is a place built during Eisenhower's term as a place for relaxing and secret meetings. It is a secluded Presidential area that is approximately 70 miles away from the White House. **

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	9. The Party

**A.N: **Hello my fellow readers! Thank you for the comments, and I am so sorry that this story seems to be trudging along. I'm trying to pick up the pace, but work and college is flippin' hard!

Anyways, this next thing you're going to read from me (not the story) is not going to be very nice. I am a nice person, but sometimes, people just make me REALLY angry. And this person is one of them. So I'll let you read a review I got from this person and what my response is to it:

**morden   
2006-09-01  
ch 1, anon.**

**This is a ripoff from a Usagi/Seiya fic who the author ripoff from a stupid Disney movie.**

**First** off, I'd like to say that this person is an idiot. For one thing, I've talked to the author of the Usa/Seiya fanfic, and she said it was perfectly fine that I had a 'similar' (and if you even READ mine, you would see that our story is completely different. Actually… I really wouldn't know that because I still have not read her story, therefore it's original) story and this person morden would very well have known that if they read any of my previous author notes.

**Secondly**, if this person ever watched the 'stupid Disney movie' which was titled," My Date With the President's Daughter" (something like that), they would know that the author of the Usa/Seiya story did not 'ripoff' (Which you spelt that wrong by the way) of the movie because if you even WATCHED the movie, you would know that the plotline is completely different. For one, there was no bodyguard. The President's Daughter in the movie met a guy at the mall, randomly, and they got into all kinds of mishap, therefore, there is no rip-off, because there was no bodyguard, which makes her story completely different and original, as is mine.

**THIRDLY**, thanks for having enough balls to log-in. Not.

Okay! Now that I got THAT off my chest! The story begins!

But wait! Another reviewer asked if I made up all of the gadgets and stuff myself, and I'll proudly answer 'yes' to that: D

-----------------------

Chapter 9: The Party

When Darien walked into Serena's room, he didn't see her lying on her bed, reading a book as she usually did; instead, he found her lying next to the door, on the ground and curled up in a ball.

_Oh my god… _Darien thought as he saw her. "Serena," he said under his breath, rushing over to her," Are you all right?"

She didn't move her body, but she nodded her head slowly, not looking at him… _refusing_ to look at him.

This morning when she woke-up, it took her a few seconds to figure out why she was lying on the ground. As she thought through the haze of sleep, she suddenly remembered her mother's tears and her father's tired face. She felt like crying again, but no tears made their way to the surface because she had exhausted herself from crying all last night. She curled herself into a tight ball, and stayed that way.

Darien kneeled down beside her and looked down at her, but her eyes never once flickered up to meet his, nor did she move or make a sound. Darien slowly reached his hand out to pull a couple of strands of hair off her face, but then dropped his hand midway to its destination. Looking at her like this made his heart ache, a feeling he hadn't had in awhile. He was familiar with the sting in his heart, because every time he looked upon a photograph of his father, he'd feel it; piercing and strong.

"What's wrong," he asked her softly, almost in a whisper. He saw her eyelashes blink together, but she didn't answer him. She just lie there, still as a stone. "Serena… please talk to me," he said as he bent down further to try and catch her blue eyes; the blue eyes that he came to adore.

There was a pause of silence before Serena finally spoke. "I don't want to be me, anymore," she whispered quietly, taking a deep breathe to control her emotions.

"What do you mean?" Darien asked, his eyes full of questions and concern.

"I," Serena began again," would give _anything_ right now to not be me."

Darien tilted his head and tried once more to look into her eyes, but she wouldn't. He gave a sigh and frowned. _Fine.._ he thought after awhile. He shifted off his knees to sit down, and then scooted down a little before lying down on the ground next to Serena. When he turned to look at her, he finally got to see her cerulean blue eyes.

Serena stared blankly at him for awhile before asking," What are you doing?"

Darien shrugged, making sure to not break eye contact with her. "It didn't look like you were going to get up anytime soon, so I just thought I'd come down to you. Oh, let me add that marble floors are not very comfortable," He said, shifting a little on his back. Another moment of silence passed between them, and Darien squinted at her with concern. "Tell me what's wrong."

Serena was still lying sideways and curled up as she stared into his alarmingly, beautiful dark blue orbs. She instantly felt better when he looked into her eyes. "What's wrong is my family," Serena began," My dad is working so hard he's not even sleeping; my mother is lonely and worried… and Sam… God, I forgot about Sam," she said biting her lip guiltily and blinking away from Darien's strong gaze. "Last night while we were walking down the hallway together, I looked at him and it was if I noticed him for the first time. He's grown some more, his hair's longer… Where have I been? I'm a terrible person! I don't notice my little brother, I haven't paid any attention to either of my parents and I'm always getting mad at my father for not spending time with us when I'm doing the same thing. I don't want this life, I hate it."

Serena looked down, away from Darien's beckoning eyes once she finished. She had a lot more to say, but she stopped.

"You know you can't keep sulking about your new life, Serena," Darien's deep, soothing voice advised. "Take the good with the bad. Yes, your father is tired, but you also have to remember that his choices voice all of America. This North Korea war threat's going to pass eventually, and everything will fall back into place. Next time you go shopping, take your mom… or do something with her to let her know that she's not forgotten. You and Sam both have busy schedules, so I'm sure your mom understands, but just take some time out of your busy lives to appease hers. With Sam, that's simple, just talk to him from time to time and show up to his games and encourage him, that's all a teenage boy needs. You've got the world at your fingertips, Serena… your life is not bad."

Serena's eyes lifted to his again and she stared into them for what seemed like hours. The space between her and him was a respectable distance, and Serena found herself yearning to close the gap and rest her head on his comfortable looking chest. "Thank you," Serena whispered, smiling slightly for the first time.

Darien raised his eyebrows," For what?"

"For talking to me," she answered, her wide-eyes looking a little livelier.

Darien smiled and said," No problem," before standing up and dusting himself off, and offering her a hand, which she took. He pulled her up easily and she stumbled dizzily into his arms, which wrapped around her tiny waist without haste.

"Whoa," Darien said as he made sure she had her balance.

Serena had her eyes closed to adjust to the spinning in her head. "Sorry," she said, her eyes still tightly closed," I think I stood up too quickly… kinda dizzy."

Darien nodded and let her go slowly before taking her arm and helping her steer to her bed to sit. "How long have you been lying over there, anyway?"

Serena opened her eyes and shrugged. "I'm not sure… sometime after dinner."

"Since after dinner?" Darien repeated, looking incredulous.

Serena looked embarrassedly at the ground. "I didn't have enough strength to make it to the bed. I had a breakdown so I just fell down wherever," she confessed, half mumbling the entire time.

Darien ran a hand through his ebony hair. "I know I'm not exactly your best friend'," he said," but you could always talk to me, Serena. I mean… I live like 3 feet away from your room. You don't have to feel embarrassed or anything, sometimes it's better to talk through things and let it all out rather than keep it bottled up in you. Or if you don't want to actually _see_ me, then you could always talk to me through that earpiece and microphone set."

_Why is he being so nice?_ Serena thought confusedly as she took in everything he just offered.

"Okay?" Darien asked, looking for a promise.

Serena looked up at him and met his gaze and nodded with a smile. "Okay."

Soon after, Darien left to go back to his room for her to get ready. While he was away, the only thing her mind would let her think of was how right it felt when she was in his arms, even if it was just for a split-second.

-----------------------

The party was at Matthew Abshire's house, which is about twenty minutes away from the White House. Ken had made sure that the house was searched through before he would let his daughter step foot into a party.

Outside the house was a line of teenagers awaiting to enter. Every single person was there for one of two reasons. The first reason is to just be there, and the other is to catch a glimpse of Serena Bryant, which so many kids only saw on television or magazines.

Before anyone got to enter, there were guards that went through their things and body checked them. The guards each signed a contract saying they would only be on the outside premises and always 20 feet away from the house unless there was an emergency. The only two allowed in were, of course, Andrew and Darien.

Serena arrived around eight, dressed in a simple black dress that clung to her every curve. Her hair was down and in beautiful cascade curls. She definitely stood out in a crowd.

Darien and Andrew dressed in regular comfort clothes with some kind of jacket thrown on top. Andrew and Darien also stood out in the crowd. They were possibly the two most handsome men any girl had ever seen in person; Darien with dark blue eyes and riveting black hair, and Andrew with his blonde messy locks and bright blue eyes.

As they walked in together, they went straight past the crowd, ignoring some of Serena's screaming fans.

Darien frowned as he turned to look at Andrew. "I thought this was a school party," he said to Andrew.

Andrew grinned and shook his head," If there's a 'celebrity' attending an 'easy-to-get-to' place, you know there's gonna be kids coming to the party from out of state."

Darien made a face of annoyance as they trailed behind Serena. _Attending a high school party is already annoying… now I'm attending a party with screaming fans_.

The house was huge, as expected. As they walked through the doors, there were already about a hundred kids dancing around in a dark, spacious living-room.

_Holy hell_, Darien thought as he looked around. The place was already packed with kids and there were about another two hundred more lined up outside.

The living-room was cleared of all furniture to make room as a dance floor. There seemed to be a DJ in the corner and bright strobe lights flashing around.

Darien rolled his eyes when he spotted the DJ. _Rich kids_, he thought as he made his way deeper into the house, following Serena and Andrew. As they made their way into the kitchen, Darien spotted three large kegs with a bunch of kids gathered around, waiting their turn to get a drink. "Okay… how did _that_," Darien pointed at the keg," get in here when the house was searched?"

Andrew and Serena shrugged, but then someone behind them answered. "Easy," a boy with brown hair and blue eyes said," My brother is twenty-one. It's legal."

Darien took it that this was Matt Abshire.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Matt bowed his head. "You all have fun, and try not to break anything," he said as he shuffled out, playing host.

Serena looked at the keg with interest, but then turned away and walked out of the kitchen, forcing Andrew and Darien to follow.

Just as they exited, Mina and Lita came waltzing over towards Serena.

"Hey," Mina grinned happily," I'm so glad you came."

Serena smiled back at her friend. "I told you I would," Serena practically had to yell over the loud music.

Mina reached out and grabbed Serena, yelling," Come on! Let's go dance," laughing as she tugged Lita and Serena to follow her.

"Oh god," Serena said as she rolled her eyes and followed Mina onto the dance floor with thrashing kids.

Darien and Andrew stayed back but made sure Serena was easy to spot and not too far away. As they stood there, talking amongst themselves, a couple of teenage girls, provocatively dressed in skimpy dresses, came up to Andrew and Darien.

One of the girls had dark brown hair with brown eyes. She wore a tight red dress that showed a little too much cleavage, not to mention it was extremely short. The other girl was blonde with green eyes, wearing a pink sparkly dress that was strapless and also very short.

"Hey," the brunette said, her eyes looking both Andrew and Darien up and down with an approving smile.

Darien and Andrew both greeted her back out of courtesy.

The brunette looked at Darien and licked her lips subconsciously. "You wanna dance?" she said loudly.

Andrew looked at Darien, trying not to smile as he crossed his arms and waited for him to say something.

Darien looked a little bit taken aback. "Uh… no, thanks."

The girl pouted and her blonde haired friend stepped up to the plate, this time asking Andrew. "How about you?" she asked. "You wanna dance?"

Andrew looked amused as he shook his head. "No."

The two girls looked utterly miserable as they ambled away from Andrew and Darien.

When they were gone, Andrew and Darien looked at each other and shook their heads, smiling. It didn't take long for another group of girls to come up to them and ask them to dance again, which they both reclined politely.

"Geez," Darien said as he leaned his back against the wall.

Andrew laughed. "You gotta give them props for having enough courage to ask," Andrew pointed out.

Darien grinned and nodded as he cast a gaze around the dance floor before his eyes landed on Serena. She was laughing as Mina twirled her around. _God, she's beautiful_, Darien thought to himself as he watched how her hips swayed sexily as she danced. Her arms would move gracefully from time-to-time, and she would sometimes move her head to make her hair come around. She looked sexy without even trying too. As Darien watched her move, Ethan came up out of nowhere and wrapped his arms around her from behind and started to dance, making her spin around to look at him in shock. When she realized it was him, she smiled and started to dance with him instead. Darien turned his head away.

Andrew seemed to have been watching her too, because he shook his head and said," I don't like that guy."

Darien looked at him. "Why?"

Andrew shrugged. "He just rubs me the wrong me."

"Yeah," Darien replied as he glanced again in their direction, suddenly feeling envious that Ethan got to dance with her and hold her. As Darien kept his eyes on them, he saw that Ethan was starting to get bolder, placing his hands on the small of Serena's back and pulling her close to him, almost grinding against her. Darien noticed the uncomfortable look on Serena's face, and a moment later she started to push against Ethan's chest. He let her go, but looked annoyed as she yelled something at him and stalked away towards Darien and Andrew.

Darien pushed himself off the wall and waited for her. Her face looked angry as she made her way to him.

"I hate it when he does that," Serena said to herself, but loud enough for Andrew and Darien to hear.

Darien looked past Serena, to Ethan and saw that he had left the dance floor already. When he looked back at Serena, she had her arms folded, looking angrily down the hallway at nothing in particular. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Serena looked up at him and nodded, giving him a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm thirsty though," she said, turning around and looking towards the kitchen. "Do you two want anything?"

Darien and Andrew looked at each other uneasily. "No… but-"

"I'm not going to drink," she said as she walked away, reading their minds.

Darien and Andrew looked sheepish as she went into the kitchen

"Should we follow?" Andrew asked, looking a little worried.

Darien shook his head and took out the tracker for the first time that night, and turned it on.

Andrew's jaw dropped when he saw it. He loved gadgets. "Where did you get _that_?"

Darien looked at the screen and saw a red dot Serena moving around in the kitchen and surrounded by blue dots.

"I'm guessing that's her," Andrew pointed to the floating red dot. Darien answered with a nod. "That's so cool," Andrew said, smiling and shaking his head.

Darien grinned and turned it off, thinking it wasn't necessary right now; plus, Serena could be coming back soon.

After awhile, Darien began to wonder where she was… it shouldn't take ten minutes or more to get a drink.

He pressed a finger over the Secret Service logo pin, and waited for the beeping noises. "Where are you?" Darien asked, knowing she could hear him now.

It took awhile, but she answered," I'm around. Don't worry, Darien. It's a party, you don't have to follow me everywhere."

"Serena… I have to be able to see you," Darien said seriously, a hint of irritation in his voice.

There was a pause. "If that's the case, then find me because I'm not going to tell you where I am every single minute… and I don't like you scolding at me through this earphone!"

Darien skimmed the crowd, nodding his head to tell Andrew to go look for her. Andrew nodded in response and headed off. "I am not scolding you, I am just trying to do my job, which you're making it really difficult to do right now."

"That's what I do, Darien, if you haven't already figured that out. Now, if I need anything, I'll make sure to talk to you… but I don't like this earphone, it's like you're in my head. So, I'm gonna take it out."

"Don't do it," he warned, but was amused. The President knew his daughter well, having told Darien she'd probably take it out.

"Buh bye," she said one last time before beeping out.

Darien chuckled and shook his head as he pulled out his tracker. "Fine by me," he said as he turned it on. He looked at the screen and saw that she was somewhere in the dining area. Three blue dots were surrounding her, and off to the far right corner, was a green dot, which was Darien. He smirked and pressed on his microphone to activate hers. Now, he could hear what she was saying, and who she was around.

"Great party, huh?" Darien heard a familiar voice, thinking it belonged to Raye's.

"Yeah, it's fun," he heard Serena's sweet voice answer back.

"So, where's Ethan?" Raye's voice came on again.

Serena gave an exasperated sigh and said," I don't know. He's probably mad at me."

Another girl's voice came on, and Darien knew it was Mina's. "He's always mad at you or vice versa. What did he do this time?"

"When we were dancing he was trying to… like… grind on me. It's a little too close for comfort," Serena remarked.

Darien turned off the microphone when he felt she was in safe hands around her friends. Having these gadgets came in handy, but he also felt like he was invading her privacy. A moment later, a beeping noise emanated into the earpiece, but it was from Andrew.

"Found her," Andrew said loudly. "She's in the dining-room with her friends. I'm out of her view though."

"K, thanks," Darien replied, already knowing where she was and who she was with.

After about five minutes of standing off to the corner and staring aimlessly across the sea of unfamiliar faces, Andrew came back on the earpiece.

"She's talking to her boyfriend now," Andrew warned Darien.

"Got it," Darien said as he pushed the button to turn on Serena's mic.

Darien heard a deep voice, which was obviously Ethan's. "I don't understand why you've been so distant lately."

Serena sighed dramatically as she answered," I am not being distant, I've just been busy."

"Ever since your new bodyguard came, you've been acting different around me," Darien could hear the anger in Ethan's voice.

"Don't be ridiculous," Serena snapped.

"Then why is he still here, Serena? I thought you were going to get rid of him."

Serena gave an exasperated groan. "Because he is, okay? Now, will you stop interrogating me?"

"No," Ethan responded defiantly," I want to know what's going on between you and that bodyguard of yours."

"Nothing is going on between us, Ethan! He's just my bodyguard, would you give it up already?"

There was a pause before Ethan said," I see the way you look at him," in a tone that was so filled with jealousy, Darien could catch it through the microphone.

"Yeah? And how do I look at him?"

"Like how you used to look at me," Ethan replied, his voice softer.

Darien turned off her microphone for the second time. It was too personal. He pressed the pin to communicate with Andrew.

"You still watching them?" Darien asked.

"Yup," Andrew replied with a bored voice. "Looks like they're having a heated argument… surprise, surprise."

Darien laughed and told Andrew to keep an eye on them and if anything went wrong, call him.

As he leaned up against the wall again, he heard Serena's voice, loud and clear, saying," _He's just my bodyguard…_"

-------------------------

About an hour and a half into their arrival, the house was completely packed with teenagers, and the kegs were already more than halfway empty. Some kids were drunkenly jumping about; others were passed out on the couch or randomly on the ground. Several couples were in darkened corners making-out, and others were a little farther along.

Sometime into the hour, Andrew returned by Darien's side to complain about Serena, Ethan, and her friends. Apparently Serena got fed up with Ethan so she stalked away from him to join her guard of friends. Ethan didn't try to come after her so instead, he adjourned into the kitchen to get a drink.

When Serena and her friends waltzed back into the dancing crowd, Andrew walked back to Darien as they both took their stance to watch out for her once again.

As Darien watched Serena dance gracefully with her friends, he noticed that Raye had broken from them and was now heading towards Andrew and himself.

Her long dark, usually straight, hair was not in sexy curls. She wore a red dress that fitted her form perfectly, accentuating her tiny waist. She smiled sweetly at Andrew and Darien as her unique violet eyes twinkled.

"You guys have to dance," Raye said with a grin as she looked from Darien to Andrew.

Andrew glanced quickly at Darien as a look of complete dread washed over his face. "Um… I don't dance," he said seriously.

Raye's playful smile broadened. "Everybody can dance… besides, this is a party! You're supposed to be having fun," she proclaimed.

Darien chuckled and shook his head. "This is a _high school_ party, and we are doing our _job_."

"But," Raye said, her eyebrows arching up," wouldn't your 'job' be a lot more fun if you were dancing with a group of girls?"

Andrew turned slightly towards Darien and jokingly said," You know… she has a point."

Darien just shot a sarcastic look. "Seriously, Raye… it'd be weird."

"Why?" She asked, truly not understanding.

"It just would be, all right?" Darien answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

Raye didn't back down, however. Instead, she rolled her eyes and grabbed each of the boy's hands and pulled them forcibly into the crowd before either Andrew or Darien knew what was going on.

"Wha-" Andrew gasped as he was tugged into the bobbing sea of bodies.

"Hey!" Darien yelled, being a little taken aback at Raye's strength.

Once they were embedded in the crowd, they both just stood there as they kept getting bumped into by teenagers.

Raye and the girls were laughing, all except Serena, who was just smiling.

"Come on," Lita said as she reached for Andrew's hand, jumping about making his arm go up and down.

Raye giggled as she took Andrew's other hand and moved about. Andrew looked like he had just been yelled at by his mother, not knowing what to do but oblige to the girls as they twirled and moved around him.

Mina watched for a minute, but was dancing with her crush, Alan Stroud.

That left, Serena with Darien.

They stood awkwardly next to each other as they watched Andrew being harassed by two girls. Darien turned his head to look at Serena quickly and bobbed his head to the side and said," I should probably… go back over there," he said, but not loud enough for Serena to hear.

"What?" she yelled, tilting her head to the side.

Darien sighed and leaned down so she could hear him. Just as he was by her face, a teenage boy accidentally bumped into Darien, making him lose his balance and fall haphazardly onto Serena, and making her stumble backward and land on the floor with Darien on top.

Serena gave a little shriek out of surprise. She closed her eyes tightly as she fell harshly to the ground, seconds later she felt a heavy form collapse on top of hers too. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Darien was on top of her, his hands on either side of her head. She breathed in sharply when she realized the proximity between them.

Darien looked a little surprised at first, his eyes wide with shock. _How do we always end up like this?_ He thought aggravatingly as he bounced off of her quickly and offered her a hand.

Serena took his offered hand as he pulled her up with ease. She could have sworn he was blushing.

"Sorry," Darien mumbled," someone bumped into me."

Serena smiled weakly and nodded, glancing away from him. "I-it's okay," she said back quickly, feeling jittery and nervous.

Darien stood there for a few seconds and pointed over to the corner where he had been before, signaling to her that he would be heading over there again.

She just nodded and waved.

When he turned around to leave, Serena exhaled, feeling like she'd been holding her breath the entire time he was there.

"What was _that_?" Mina asked with a huge grin plastered across her pretty face.

Serena blushed. "What was what?"

"You two were in a very compromising position on the ground just a minute ago," Mina explained with a smug expression.

"It was an accident," Serena argued. _An accident that seems to happen quite a lot… not that I mind… _

Mina just rolled her eyes and nodded with a sarcastic expression. "Yeah, whatever," she said as Alan came up to her to whisk her away again.

Serena frowned at what Mina said and walked away in the opposite direction of where she knew Darien would be. When she glanced back, she saw that Andrew was surrounded by a group of maniacal girls, trying to dance with him.

As she slowly moved through the crowd, all she could think about was Darien. _Okay… he's all I EVER think about now…_ she told herself as she steered towards the kitchen.

As Serena was about to step into the kitchen, a group of girls squealed and ran over to her to ask her for an autograph. She smiled sweetly and nodded.

While Serena was signing something, someone behind her tapped on her. She turned around abruptly to find herself facing Matt Abshire, the host of the party.

"Oh, excuse me," Serena said as she handed back the paper to the group of girls who stared at her handwriting like it was something to be worshipped.

"Hey, Serena," Matt greeted with a warm smile. "Um… there's a problem…. About your boyfriend."

_Boyfriend? Oh right… I have one_. Serena thought inwardly. "What about him?"

Matt looked sheepish," Well, he's been throwing up in the bathroom for like the past fifteen minutes, I was just wondering if-"

"Don't worry," Serena said as she started to walk away," I'll go handle it."

Matt smiled and thanked her as he scurried away to go take care of something else.

Serena sighed heavily as she walked around the kitchen and into a long dark hallway. _I have no idea where the bathroom is!_

The music and the loudness became muffled the further she walked down the hallway. She wasn't alone, there were a lot of people in the hallway as well, but most of them were preoccupied with a 'someone' else.

Serena saw her first door, so she opened it quickly, only to see a flash of two naked bodies before a girl gasped. "Oh… sorry," Serena flushed and closed the door. _God… how embarrassing_… she mused.

Right across from the room, was another door, but it was closed. _I'd better knock this time_, she told herself as she neared the door.

KNOCK-KNOCK

She heard someone coughing inside before the door latched and opened, revealing a very pale Ethan.

"Oh…. Are you okay?" Serena asked as she stepped inside, feeling a rush of worry. He looked so sick…

He smiled groggily and nodded his head, his green eyes looking tired. "I'm f-fine," he said as he closed the bathroom door, stumbling around a bit. His brown hair was pointing in all kinds of directions, having run his hands through it over and over again.

"Ethan," Serena said in a serious, worried voice," are you drunk?"

He shook his head as he began swaying to-and-fro. "No… c-course not! I only had like," he looked down at his fingers, trying to figure out how many cups he had," five or six drinks," he slurred.

Serena's eyes grew wide. "What? I leave you for about an hour and you drank six cups of alcohol?"

"Come o-on, Serena. You left me, what else was there to do?" he said as he tilted over to the side and stumbled a little before regaining his balance.

"So you're blaming me?" Serena asked, looking angry but bemused at the same time. She crossed her arms across her chest and took a step towards him, making him take a few wobbly steps backwards.

He shook his head roughly," I would never," he said, his voice squeaking as he spoke.

Serena just looked at him as he swayed around. He was completely out of it, and it was a definite turn-off.

"I feel sick," Ethan blurted as he stuck his hand on the wall to help the spinning in his head.

"I wonder why," Serena said sarcastically as she began to move over to get out of the bathroom. "Look, Matt doesn't want you throwing-up everywhere so hurry up and get out, okay? I'll call a cab for you or something," she said as she reached for the doorknob, only to have Ethan place his hands roughly on top of hers to stop her.

Serena looked up at him and found that his face was extremely close to hers. His breath reeked of alcohol, and his eyes were a little blood shot.

"Where are you going?" he asked, almost falling on top of her.

Serena let go of the doorknob and backed away from him a little to get the stench of his breath out of her face. "To call a cab," she repeated herself.

Ethan shook his head again and went towards her, trapping her between the wall and him by placing both of his arms on either side of her face. "You're not going any…where," he said, his voice dropping low and his eyes hardening.

"Ethan, come on, you're drunk," Serena tried to persuade him.

"I'm not t-that drunk," he said, rolling his eyes ineffectively. "I wanna know w-why you never do stuff with me…."

Serena frowned, pressing herself into the wall to try to distance the two of them. "I do things with you all the time."

"Not like that… other stuff," he mumbled.

"What 'other' stuff?" Serena pressed, starting to get a little more than annoyed.

Ethan ran a hand clumsily through his hair. "You know… w-we've been together for a year… or almost a y-year or whatever, and you still won't do anything w-with me."

"That's because I don't _want_ too," Serena snapped, pushing herself off the wall now to try and plow through him. It didn't' work. Ethan, though being drunk, was still extremely strong. He pushed her back to the wall forcibly, making her bump her head. Serena gasped in shock.

He looked down at her, his eyes dark with anger. "I-it's that bodyguards of yours, isn't it?" he snarled.

"What is wrong with you? Let me go," Serena said, trying to leave again, only to have Ethan push his body onto hers and press her harder into the wall.

"You'll fuck him, but you won't me," he said, his voice strong and harsh.

Serena's eyes flickered with fear. She had never heard him talk like this before…

His right hand left the side of her head and traveled down the length of body. He was too close and pushing her too hard into the wall for her to move anything.

Serena felt his hands roam over her breast, down her side, and down her leg, stopping at the hem of her pretty black dress. She looked up at him in terror. "W-why are you doing this?" She whispered.

His eyes lifted to meet hers, his hands pausing right underneath the hem, on her upper thigh. "I want you, Serena," he whispered harshly, moving his hands now to her inner thigh, and making her breath hitch.

Serena could feel tears begin to burn her eyes as she felt his hands violate her. She was scared, and she didn't know what to do. "Stop," she said shakily, her voice weak.

Right as she told him to stop, one of his fingers brushed lightly over the fabric of her underwear She gasped in surprise as she felt her tears finally spill over.

-----------------

_Where is she?_ Darien thought frantically as he pressed a pin to communicate with Andrew.

"Yeah?" Andrew yelled loudly into the microphone.

"Where is Serena?" Darien asked, his eyes searching desperately for her.

"I thought she was with you," Andrew replied.

"Damnit… go find her!" Darien yelled and beeped out, pulling out the tracker. He turned it on and looked quickly for her red dot. It showed that she was alone with someone in the bathroom. Darien's eyebrows knit together as he pressed the tracker to activate her microphone camera….

That's when he saw Ethan, and heard her scream over the microphone.

Then…..

He ran.


	10. Falling Asleep

**A.N: **Haha, I'm sorry for leave you all with the cliffhanger. It makes life more interesting.

Here you go!

P.S: I will try to update quicker, but more than likely, I can't because of my work schedule.

I have tests, essays, and exams at least once a week, so there is no possible way that I could update every few days or every week like I used too. So sorry! But I will do my best. Promise.

P.S.S: One reviewer asked me if Serena was still a virgin (in my story), and the answer is yes.

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Chapter 10: Falling Asleep

Darien began racing down the darkened hallway, running as fast as he could. He glanced down at the tracker with every few steps, making sure he was going in the right direction. His heart was hammering so hard, he could hear it ring in his ears. He felt anger pulse through him with every move he made.

Why did it seem like the hallway was never-ending?

_Serena…_

---------------------

_Please God… I'm begging you_, Serena sent an unheard prayer up towards the ceiling as she closed her eyes tight, feeling Ethan's finger stroke her. Tears quietly leaked out as she clenched her jaw together, feeling her knees go weaker with every passing second. She was so out of her body, she didn't know what to do, or how to act.

Serena could hear Ethan's breathing become heavy as he drunkenly leaned in to kiss her neck. "You like this… don't you?" he whispered as his tongue flicked out to taste her bare throat.

"P-please stop…" Serena gasped, her words coming out short of breath and shaky.

He leaned out a little to look at her with a menacing, knowing smile….

And in that few seconds, there was a bit of space between them… just enough room so she could…

------------------------

Darien reached the door and turned the doorknob with fumbling hands. Locked.

"Fuck," he muttered as he backed up a little. He looked at the door as if it was a football player, wanting to tackle and rip it apart.

He pushed off his foot with enough force to slam his shoulder into the door, breaking it with ease as he came through the barrier. The sound of breaking wood emanated as it swung haphazardly open.

"Serena," he almost yelled, his eyes darting around the room with intense focus.

He saw her slumped on the floor, her hand covering her face. Her dress was wrinkled and pushed up well past her thighs, clear evidence that something had gone terribly wrong.

A few feet away from Serena, was Ethan, who was completely passed out; a couple of inches away from Ethan's head, was a shattered vase.

When Serena saw that Ethan had distanced himself enough for her to move, she automatically brought her knee up with every ounce of strength her body had left in her, and slammed it into his groin. He immediately fell to his knees, his hands instinctively grabbing his throbbing crotch as he howled in pain. Serena grabbed a decorative vase quickly with shaky fingers as her mind raced. When he made a sudden move towards her, she raised her arm and slammed the glass vase on his head, knocking him out as the vase shattered into a million tiny pieces.

She fell to the ground as she looked at him with horrified, tearful eyes. Then, out of shock and physical weakness, she began to shake and cry. That's right when Darien bursts through the door.

Darien rushed over quickly to her and bent down on his knees. His heart was beating painfully hard. "Serena-"

"Please…. Don't tell my dad," she croaked as she looked up at him with the most sorrowful eyes he'd ever seen, breaking his heart. Her eyes were streaming with tears as he tightened his jaw and nodded reluctantly.

"Okay," Darien muttered as he reached out his hands to cup her face, wiping away every tear that trickled down her flushed cheek. Suddenly, Serena moved and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her face and burying it into his chest as she let out a heartbreaking gasp of relief, sobbing harder than she had before. Darien was surprised, but wrapped his arms securely around her as he drew her to him, and lightly stroked her back. "It's okay," he whispered," it's over… I'm here." He brought one hand and rested it on her head, the other arm around her waist. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you when you needed me," Darien whispered. He was mad at himself… no, he was pissed. This was something that was never supposed to happen… so now, he was never going to forgive himself. "I should have been here," Darien said a little louder, beating himself up as he tightened his hold on her and clenched his jaw.

Serena just shook her head, wanting to protest, but being too tired to. She was drained mentally, physically, and emotionally. "I-I… want t-to go home," she uttered.

"Okay," Darien cooed, rocking her gently. "We're going to have to get you through the back so we don't cause a scene," he explained. She nodded as she sniffed, her tears slowly coming to an end.

Darien moved a little to press on his microphone to call Andrew.

"Dude," Andrew yelled," I can't find her anywhere!"

"It's okay, Drew. She's with me. I need you to call the limo driver, Kyle, and tell him to pull in on the back… we're taking her home. Afterwards, meet me in the first floor bathroom."

"Got it," Andrew said, and beeped out.

Darien patted her back gently to get her to look at him. She hesitantly moved and looked up with swollen eyes.

"Serena, I need to know what he did to you," Darien said seriously.

She looked at him with scared eyes. "But… you c-can't tell anyone-"

"That only depends on what he did, Serena. If he… did anything to you, then we need to take you to a doctor or the hospital."

Serena glanced down and shook her head. "He just….touched me," she said quietly, her eyebrows knitting together.

Darien clenched his jaw. "And that's all," he asked, to make sure.

She nodded.

He gave a heavy sigh and ran a hand over his face, not knowing what to do.

"Please don't say anything," Serena begged, bringing her eyes back up to his face. "It's my fault for wanting to come in the first place… and my dad… he's dealing with enough as it is. It's _my_ fault."

"It is NOT your fault," Darien raised his voice. "None of this would have happened if I would have been doing my job! I never should have left you alone," he almost yelled, his eyes looking hard.

Andrew came bounding in, looking a little out of breath. When he saw Ethan sprawled on the ground with broken shards of glass, he looked confusedly towards Darien and Serena. It took him a few seconds before his face flickered with recognition.

"Kyle's in the back," Andrew informed, walking over towards Ethan and peering down at him with disgust.

Darien nodded and let go of Serena as he stood up. "I'm going to bring her to the car, you stay in here and make sure nobody comes in. I'll be back," Darien said as he leaned down to scoop Serena into his arms. She seemed too weak to even walk.

She wrapped her arms around his neck again as he walked out of the bathroom. Serena could hear the music and the excitement of party. She closed her eyes and rested her head at the crook of his neck.

It was strange; only a few moments ago, she'd never been more terrified and felt more vulnerable in her life. But then Darien showed up and he held her, and she felt safe and warm, almost making her forget about what had happened. _Almost_.

When they reached the car, Kyle opened the door for them, knowing well that something had happened.

Darien bowed his head at Kyle to greet him as he climbed into the limousine, careful not to bump Serena into anything. He scooted in on the seat as she sat contently in his lap. He held her for just a second longer, and moved her off of him to place her on the seat.

"I'll be right back," Darien reassured her. He quickly took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. "If you need anything, just use my microphone to contact Andrew."

Serena nodded and tugged his jacket around her tighter.

Then, he did something totally unexpected; He leaned in and kissed her quickly on the forehead, before he quickly darted out of the car.

---------------------------

"So, what are we gonna do with him?" Andrew asked as he knelt down beside a completely unconscious Ethan.

Darien folded his arms across his chest. "We have to make it look like he was drunk, and just passed out."

"What's he gonna do when he wakes up though? I mean… he has a massive bump on top of his head," Andrew pointed out the swelling on Ethan's head.

Darien leaned against the wall and shook his head," I highly doubt he'll even remember anything. I'm pretty sure he was already drunk past the point of oblivion, or else he would have never had enough balls to have done what he did to Serena."

Andrew stood up again and looked at Darien. "No… I think he would have done that to Serena when he was sober, eventually. Maybe not then, but he would have eventually."

There was a long pause as the boys looked at Ethan. Every time Darien laid eyes on him, he felt a strong urge to punch him as he felt anger surge through him.

"This never should have happened," Darien spoke, shaking his head slightly. "I didn't do my job…"

Andrew leaned down and began to pick up the small pieces of glass. "You really can't blame yourself for something like this. I mean, yeah it was fucked up, but everyone makes mistakes."

"We weren't hired to make mistakes, Andrew," Darien argued back.

Andrew gave a defeated sigh and shrugged as he tossed some pieces of broken vase into a nearby trashcan.

Together, they spent the next ten minutes cleaning up the shattered vase, making sure everything was at least clean. Andrew grabbed Ethan's arms and dragged him to the toilet, making Ethan lean against it, and bent his head in as if he had just passed out right there.

"Looks good," Darien said as he looked at the scene before him. "Now everyone will just think he had too much to drink, came in here to throw-up, and passed out."

Andrew nodded and began to walk towards Darien before he stopped him.

"Wait… one more thing," Darien said. "Hold him for a minute."

Andrew looked confused but did it anyways.

Darien walked up to Ethan, looked at him for a moment, raised his right arm and socked Ethan in the eye as hard as he could. "There… I feel better now," Darien said and walked away. "Let's go."

--------------------------

Serena felt like she'd been in the car for hours. Loneliness began to creep up to her and grasp her, but before it completely consumed her, Darien opened the door and climbed in. It was amazing how simply looking at him made everything better. And oh… when the boy smiles….

"Sorry it took so long," Darien mumbled as he scooted next to her," We had to take care of… things."

Serena just gave him a half-witted smile; One of those smiles that never quite reached her eyes, but Darien noticed that lately, none of her smiles have been. "It's okay," she shrugged, tightening her hold on his jacket that was still around her shoulders. "Where's Andrew?"

"Oh, he's gonna take the security van back instead," Darien answered, looking at Serena to make sure she was all right.

Serena caught his curious eyes," I'm fine," she lied.

Darien raised his eyebrows and a corner of his mouth tugged slightly up. His blue eyes looked deep into hers with a hint of amusement.

The intensity of his eyes made Serena shiver. She felt like he could read her… like he knew and saw all of her secrets by just looking into her eyes.

When Darien saw her shiver, his expression immediately shifted into concern, frowning as he scooted in closer and draped an arm over her to bring her to him. "You know you don't have to act brave _all_ the time," he told her as they both felt the car move.

Serena snorted as she rested her head at the crook of his neck. When he spoke, she could feel his voice vibrating. "I don't _act_ brave ever."

"I mean," Darien began," you don't have to say 'I'm fine', when you're not."

She fell silent for awhile as she inhaled deeply, smelling his scent and hearing the faint beat of his heart. "I am fine, I'm not lying," she bickered.

Darien chuckled as he shook his head. Even after everything, she's still completely stubborn. "You are really something else," he said quietly, resting his chin on top of her head. And for awhile, they just sat there in comfortable silence, Serena snuggled close to him. It felt perfectly natural to them right then.

"What's going to happen Monday?" Serena asked, her voice soft.

Darien moved his head and looked down at her as she tilted hers to look up at him, their faces just inches apart. "I don't know," he answered honestly," but what I do know… is he's not coming anywhere near you again."

_Just move up a little more_, Serena thought as her eyes traveled from his eyes down to his inviting lips. She wanted to kiss him… and for him to kiss her too, but for him to _mean_ it.

Darien seemed to be thinking the same thing before he jerked his head and pretended to look out the window. _Damn, that was close_, he yelled at himself as his mind reared. For a moment, his thoughts were starting to get clouded because of how close they were, and because of his sudden need to kiss her.

Serena looked down again as she rested her head back on his chest. As she felt the sting of rejection, she heard his heart beat a little faster than it had before.

----------------------------

She walked to her room. She didn't know how she had the strength to walk after what she'd gone through that night, but if she didn't walk, she would have to answer a lot of questions.

The rest of the ride home was spent in silence. Somewhere along the way, Serena felt so warm and comfortable; she began to doze off a little. As she fell deeper into her sleep, she began to dream:

_The lights were dimly lit as classical music filled the room and swirled around her. Through her eyes, she could see a huge room, decorated in colors of gold. The tile was made of bright marble and she caught a reflection of herself as she stood in the middle of the room. Her hair was in an updo as small ringlets of hair framed her face. She had on a white, lacy dress that puffed at the bottom, and she wore a beautiful sequined mask. When she looked up, she noticed for the first time that people were dancing and twirling around her. Everybody else also had on a mask to conceal their faces. As she was admiring everyone, someone tapped her on her shoulder; she turned around to face a tall, dark handsome man with a black mask. _

"_May I have this dance?" the man asked as he bowed courteously and offered her a gloved hand. _

_She smiled and bowed in return," I'd be delighted," she answered as she placed her hand in his. _

_He gave her a dazzling smile and took a step closer to her as he placed a hand tenderly on her waist. Soon, they began to sway along to the music just like everyone else. _

_She looked at him and tilted her head, trying to unmask him with her eyes. He seemed so familiar… so gentle and warm. "Who are you?" she dare asked. _

_He smiled and leaned down until his lips were right next to her ear," I protect you," he whispered. _

_Her eyes went wide as she gasped quietly. "Darien?" she said aloud, but then… he wasn't there anymore. Just like that… he was gone. _

_Suddenly, the room was bare and completely desolate. She stood alone, in her white dress and sequined mask. Someone tapped her on the shoulder again and she smiled before she turned around, thinking it was Darien. _

_She spun around, and in a blink of an eye, her dream became a nightmare. _

"_Hey baby," Ethan said as he advanced towards her, completely sober. _

_Serena took a step back, but stumbled when she almost lost her footing. She was standing on the edge of a cliff. It was like the ballroom had suddenly been broken and she was teetering on the edge. _

"_Watch out, you don't want to fall," Ethan said in a dramatically sweet voice. "Come here," he said and extended his hand to her. _

_Serena shook her head," No… get away from me," she said as her breath hitched in her throat. _

_Ethan's expression went from sweet to complete malice. "I said… come here," his voice lowered dangerously. _

"_I would rather die," she said through gritted teeth, glancing over her shoulder to look down at the never ending black pit. _

_Ethan smiled, but his eyes were hard. "You're gonna wish you'd never said that," he said as he fisted his hands and took a step towards her. _

_Serena gasped when she saw he was getting closer to her and she took another step back without thinking… only there was nowhere else to step. _

_She lost her balance and fell into the black hole, screaming. _

"_Serena!" she heard someone yell_.

"Serena… Serena," Darien said softly into her ear.

She suddenly jerked and screamed as she woke up, her breathing ragged.

"Whoa," Darien said as he tightened his grip around her waist, holding her head to his chest to calm her. "It's just a dream," he said softly, feeling her shake as he held her. "It's okay," he whispered, rocking her gently.

She closed her eyes and clutched her arms around his waist as he rocked her, her breathing slowly coming back to normalcy. "I.. saw him," she whispered, her voice scared and weak.

"It's just a dream," he repeated, running a hand up and down her back. "He's not going to hurt you anymore."

Within the next ten minutes, they were back in room, the entire walk seemed a blur to her. All she could picture was Ethan… she could even feel him touch her, and she could smell the alcohol in his breathe.

Once in her room, she quickly changed into her pajamas and climbed in bed. When Darien saw her tuck herself in, he smiled and began to leave her room.

"NO," she practically yelled, her eyes filled with terror. "Don't leave me, please…"

Darien turned around, looking worried and nodded as he walked back over to her. "Okay, I'll be right here," he reassured her as he reached her bedside.

Serena looked up at him," You promise?"

His eyes softened. "Yeah, I promise," he said with a smile. "I'm just gonna go grab that chair over there," he pointed over to her desk.

Darien walked quickly over to the desk to grab the chair. He brought it back over towards Serena and set the chair down right beside her bed. "I'll be right here," he promised as he sat down, facing her.

When Serena finally believed him, she settled back in bed and pulled the sheets up over her, sticking one arm out over it. She looked at him, and reached out her arm, her hand opening a little.

Darien reached his right hand out and took hers. She rested their intertwined hands on the bed and closed her eyes. Within minutes, she fell asleep with the comfort of knowing Darien was always going to be there to catch her when she falls.


	11. Diary Confession

**A.N: ** Ciao, everyone!

Thank you so much for the reviews! I actually received more than I expected! Yay!

I'm sorry for the slow updates… I'm sort of failing this one class, and I'm trying desperately to raise it up so I'm not having that much time to update. But don't ever worry about me leaving you hanging with any of my stories cause I always finish them. It may take awhile, but I'll finish it because I hate it when authors on Fanfiction never finish theirs. I don't want to be a hypocrite. Haha, so I hope everyone enjoys this chapter as well!

I know this is a short chapter, but it's to the point. Longer chapter next time… maybe. Hopefully.

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**Chapter 11: Diary Confession**

The only light that illuminated the room was the soft glow of the moonlight. It streamed in through Serena's window and hit her perfectly, making her look pale in the most angelic way. Her blonde hair looked almost silver as it splayed across her bed, long and silky, tempting Darien to reach out his free-hand and run his fingers through her ethereal locks.

Darien sat, entranced, at the edge of his seat, his hand still holding hers securely. Since she had fallen asleep, he hadn't been able to take his gaze off of her. His eyes traced her every curve, memorizing every detail of her face. Like the soft sprinkles of freckles that scattered on her nose, almost like an artist purposefully placed each one on her face to enhance her beauty. He listened to her deep, rhythmic breathing as her chest rose and fell. He watched, fascinated, at the facial expressions she made while asleep.

When she was dreaming something pleasant, her lips would curve up slightly. When her dreams were bordering a nightmare, she would frown and her eyebrows would furrow together in fright. He caught himself wondering what she was dreaming of.

Eventually, Darien began to feel sleep dust his eyelids, making them heavy and weary. He'd close his eyes and begin to doze off, but would suddenly jerk awake again, his eyes darting to Serena to make sure she was all right. When he saw that everything was fine, he'd let himself doze off again.

Sometime into the night, Darien woke up again, hearing Serena murmur something in her sleep.

"Stop," she mumbled, her eyebrows knitting together," Please, stop," she said a little louder as her breathing began to quicken.

Darien stood up, and leaned towards her," Shhh," he whispered, grazing a finger over her cheek," It's okay, I'm here." With the hand that was holding hers, he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand tenderly. "You're safe," he whispered again," Nothing's going to happen… I'm here."

Serena's breathing calmed down a little and her eyebrows relaxed, indicating that her nightmare had passed.

Darien sat back down and rubbed his eyes sleepily, giving a tired sigh.

"Darien," Serena mumbled in her sleep.

He froze when he heard his name. _Did… she just say my name? Is she… dreaming of me? _He thought as he dropped his hand and looked at her. "What?" he whispered, trying to get her to say something back.

"Mmmm," was the response he got back from Serena.

"Mmm?" he mimicked," What does that mean?"

This time, he didn't get a response from her. She was completely silent and still, lost in her dream.

Darien gave a flustered groan, and shook his head with a small smile.

At least now he knew who she was dreaming of.

---------------------------

The moonlight was soon replaced by sunlight as it made it's way across the earth's surface. Serena's eyes fluttered open as she was greeted with the warmth of the sun as it touched her skin. She frowned when she felt something hold her hand. When she turned her head, she saw Darien, fast asleep. He was slumped over, his head resting on the edge of her bed, and his hands still holding hers tightly.

_He stayed the whole night…_ she thought as she watched the top of his head. Serena somehow maneuvered herself from under her covers and moved herself so she could look at him, without disturbing him since her hands were still in his.

His hair fell as he slept, touching his eyelids. As Serena observed him, she couldn't find a single flaw. His jaw line was strong and sharp, his lips looked completely delicious, and his eyelashes were something she adored. She wanted to kiss him so badly, but she remembered what happened last time, and she was not going to do that again.

_Why do you have to be so PERFECT?_ She thought as she laid her head down next to his, but making sure to leave enough distance just in case he'd wake up.

His hand was warm and callused, but she never wanted him to let go.

Darien suddenly frowned and inhaled deeply as he moved his free hand to run it over his face, finally waking up. When he opened his eyes, it looked directly into Serena's, making her heart suddenly skip a beat.

He was quiet for a moment as he looked intensely into her alluring blue eyes before he spoke. "Good morning," he said quietly, his voice low and rough since he'd just waken up. He still hadn't lifted his head off of her bed.

"Good morning," Serena replied with a small smile, feeling a bit silly for being caught staring at him.

He smiled back, making her heart skip another beat. "Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, feeling like she was beginning to be lost in his eyes. She paused for a moment before adding," Thank you. For staying with me all night."

"You're welcome," he said as both of them fell silent again. Darien knew he was still holding her hand, but he didn't feel like letting go of her yet. "You had a bad dream in the middle of the night," he brought up.

Serena glanced away quickly, feeling like she was starting to drown in his too-blue eyes. "Really? I don't remember anything."

Darien just smiled and finally lifted himself off the edge of the bed. He immediately made a face as he moved his shoulders and neck around. "Ah… I'm sore," he mumbled, letting go of Serena's hand in order to stretch.

Right as he let go, Serena felt a rush of sadness overcome her. She watched him as he stood up and moved around a bit, stretching his sore muscles.

He surprised her when he sat back down and grabbed for her hand again, holding it tightly just like before. "So," he huffed, looking normal, as if holding hands with Serena was something they've done for years. "What are your plans for today?"

"U-um… probably do something with my family," she said as she looked at their intertwined hands in shock.

Darien looked at her amusedly. "Do you want me to let go of your hand?" he asked when he saw her wide-eyed facial expression. "I mean… I've only been holding it for… I don't know… the past eight hours or so," he said sarcastically.

Serena blushed," No…. I mean, if you want too," she said, still lying down on the bed and looking away from him.

"Are you blushing?" he asked with a mischievous grin, straining to look at her face.

This comment only made Serena blush harder. "What? No… I am not _blushing_," she argued, trying to hide her red face.

Darien's smile broadened. "Yeah you are! Your face is red… I'm pretty sure that counts as blushing."

"You're so full of yourself," she said as she rolled her eyes, smiling.

He laughed heartily at her statement. "Ouch," he joked," Nice comeback."

Serena giggled a little, sitting up now. _He's SO cute_, she thought as she looked at him. His hair was sticking up from how he slept, giving him a cowlick.

Suddenly, someone knocked on her door, and before Serena could ask who it was, Sam opened the door and walked in.

Darien quickly let go of her hand and took a step away from her bed.

Sam looked at them with raised eyebrows and a knowing smile, "Hey, Serena," he greeted his sister.

"Morning," she replied, glancing quickly at Darien and back at Sam.

Darien cleared his throat," Um… I think I'm gonna go back to my room," he nodded towards the door.

Serena looked up at him and gave him a nod. "Okay," she said.

He gave her an apologetic smile and walked out the room quickly, leaving Sam and Serena alone.

"What was that?" Sam asked with a grin, hopping on Serena's bed.

Serena made a face. "What was what?" she played stupid.

Sam rolled his eyes," Come on… I saw you two holding hands when I came in. What's going on with you two?"

"Nothing's going on," she said as she climbed off of her bed. "It's not like that… well, at least for him, it's not like that."

"So," Sam began, looking confusedly at his sister," you like him… but he doesn't like you?"

Serena shrugged, crossing her arms. "Something like that," she said with a sad smile.

Sam shook his head as he got off of her bed. "Girls are so blind," he said bluntly, and began walking out of her room. "Anyways, just wanted to tell you that breakfast is ready."

-------------------------

**The Diary of Serena Bryant**

**_April 16, 2006 _**

_Ethan and I are OVER. Thinking about him makes me cringe. I'm just scared when I'm around him now. I can never look at him the same way, not after what he did. _

_I don't want to mention him anymore… _

_What I wanted to write about is my conflicted feelings towards this one guy. He drives me insane, but when I'm around him, I get all stupid and giddy. I've never felt this way about anyone before. He makes my heart jump, my stomach flip, and my nerves all jumbled up, by just one simple look. Or smile… he has a really nice smile. _

_Ah, what am I thinking?!!!! He's twenty-three, AND he's my body guard! And… he's perfect. I mean, he's sweet, and smart, and hot. I mean, he's REALLY hot. He has these gorgeous blue eyes, and dark, black hair. Not to mention, his body is quite well defined. Mmmm. _

_Oh, we kissed once! Of course, it was my fault, I couldn't seem to control my idiotic actions. He was asleep, and I practically jumped on him. But the thing is, is that he kissed me back! He's a really good kisser too… _

_That's not the point! The point is, is that I'm confused. He kissed me back, but then he pushes me away. Then last night, he held my hand the entire time I was asleep! Well, I know I sort of asked him to in a way, but he still did it! _

_But then, today, when Sam came in my room, he dropped my hand and took a step away from me. He did it so fast, it was like he didn't want anyone to see… _

_Well of course he didn't want anyone to see! He could probably get fired for it. _

_Anyways, when he left, Sam said something weird. When I told Sam that I didn't think Darien liked me, he said," Girls are so blind." Does that mean he thinks Darien likes me? _

_But he's TWENTY-THREE! And I'm EIGHTEEN! Not to mention, again, that he's my BODY GUARD! _

_What is going on with me? Why is it that all I can think about is him? Why do I feel the way I do when he's around me, OR when he's away from me? _

_Oh, I had a dream about him last night. Darien mentioned something to me about me having a bad dream, but all I could remember was dreaming about HIM. I, obviously, didn't mention this part. I don't quite remember what the dream was… but all I know was he was in it, and that's all that matters. _

_But… all this can only mean one thing… and it can't be! I mean… there's no way. This is NOT supposed to happen…_

_Oh my God._

_I think I'm in love with him_

----------------------

Serena got dressed and scurried down to breakfast.

Everyone was already waiting at the table when she arrived.

Ken looked up at Serena, his eyes still looking exhausted. "Good morning," he greeted her with a tired smile.

Serena smiled and kissed her father on the cheek. "Good morning, dad."

"Did you have fun at the party, Serena?" her mother asked, looking sweet as always.

"Oh," Serena said as she took a seat," Yeah, it was okay… "

Ken peered at her through his glasses, clasping his hands together. "Nothing went wrong?" he asked.

Serena looked up at him, feeling her heart start to race," No… er, why?" _Do they know?_

"I was just wondering," Ken said as he shrugged, reaching for a glass of orange juice.

Serena let out a silent sigh. "No, nothing went wrong. Just… a party."

Soon, Ken and Irene changed the subject, oblivious to the fact that something had, indeed, gone wrong. This time, it escaped their radar.

Irene looked at Serena with twinkling eyes. "Oh honey! I forgot to tell you! The Presidential Ball is coming up!" And off they went on the subject matters of fashion, and an escort to the dance.

---------------

"Sweetheart," Paula answered the door with excessive enthusiasm, showering her son with hugs.

Darien laughed as he stepped inside. "Hi, mom," he bent down to hug her back.

When Paula was finished greeting him, she looked out the door and frowned as she closed it. "Where are your friends?"

"It's Sunday mom, they have their own families to visit," Darien informed with a smile.

"Well, next time we'll just have to bribe them with more chocolate chip cookies now, don't we?" she teased with a loving grin.

Darien laughed again as they walked into the living room. He took a seat on the couch as she bustled into the kitchen to prepare a quick drink. It didn't take her very long to come bustling back out.

"Now," she said as she handed him a cup of sweet tea," tell me what's been going on."

Darien shrugged as he took the cup and quickly thanked her. "Just work."

Paula just nodded, before saying," How's Serena? She's such a lovely girl… are you sure you can't date her?"

"Mom," Darien said with a smile, rolling his eyes," Yes, I'm sure."

"Hmph," Paula huffed, pouting," I don't see why not."

Darien shook his head, his smile broadening. "You're unbelievable," he teased her. "You know why. I can't _date_ her because I'm working for her father."

"So? What he doesn't know won't hurt him, will it?" Paula said with a smug look.

"Mom… you're not normal. Do you know that?"

Paula laughed and patted Darien lovingly on his cheek. "Oh, darling. You can't always be cautious or else you'll miss out on the best things in life. Or _lose_ the best things in life."

Darien nodded," I know. I'm not missing anything, though."

Paula looked into his eyes as she gave him a sad smile," Oh, but you are, honey. You just don't know it yet… but when you do, it might be too late."


	12. Escort

**A.N: **Thank you for the reviews! (As always)

I don't have much to say this time. LOL.

I'll let you get to the reading now.

LOTS of fluffiness in this chapter.

-------------------

**Chapter 12: Escort  
**

Darien left his mother's house feeling flustered. The entire time he was there, she kept bringing up Serena! When she wasn't talking about Serena, she would use metaphors that would HINT him to do or say something to Serena. She tried to get him to feel guilty, which didn't work. Then, she tried to get him to _think_ about what she said… and that actually worked.

Not like Serena wasn't already constantly in his thoughts, but now she was engraved into his mind, thanks to his mom.

"_She won't wait forever, Darien."_ His mother's words rang in his ear.

_What do I care?_ He thought as he drove back to the White House _It's not like it can happen… or that I even WANT it to happen_, he argued with himself.

_No, you WANT it to happen_, his conscious suddenly talked back. _Deep down, you know you do_.

Darien frowned as he turned into the security gates. He hated it when his conscious spoke to him. _No, I don't…_ he thought again, trying to reassure himself.

Too bad it didn't work.

----------------------

Serena's family day adjourned early because Ken had an urgent call. It was only about six when she started making her way back to her room, her thoughts on the Presidential Ball that was coming up in the following week.

As she walked, she looked down at her feet and the reflection of herself in the marble floor. Her mother had mentioned finding an escort, but Serena only wanted one person to be her escort; and that one person was Darien.

_Just ask him_, she thought to herself as she took long strides. _The worst thing that can happen is him saying no_….. _Which can, ultimately, break my heart…_

She gave a long sigh as she reached the elevator, pausing to wait for it to open. _You have to do it sooner or later! Just… be really friendly about it. Just tell him that you need an escort… that doesn't necessarily scream," I love you!" _

Serena stepped in once the elevator doors opened, pressing in her floor level, and leaning against the wall as she habitually grabbed a strand of hair to twirl around her fingers. "Okay," she said aloud," I'm going to do it. I'm going to ask him!"

Right as the doors swung open, she walked straight to Darien's door before she had a chance to back down. Her heart raced as she knocked on his door, biting her lip nervously. _Stay calm…_ she told herself as she waited. When no one answered, she placed a hand on the doorknob and knocked again, turning the doorknob without thinking.

It clicked and opened, making Serena's heart skip a beat as she poked her head in. "Umm… Hello?" she asked timidly, taking a step in his room. "Darien? I came to ask you something…"

No one answered her.

_He's not here…_ she told herself as she closed the door behind her and walked deeper into his room. "What am I doing?" she asked herself as she walked in deep enough to see his bed.

Right by his bed was a nightstand where she noticed a framed picture. As Serena walked closer, she saw it was a picture of him and his parents when he was around eight. She picked it up and stared at the picture, transfixed at the happy family smiling at her. Darien looked exactly like his father.

Suddenly, she heard a click, then the squeaky sound of the door opening. Serena gasped as her heart raced. _Oh my God_, she thought as she looked around the room for a place to hide. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a large wooden cabinet to the far left side of the wall. She ran to it, opening it up, the picture frame still in her hands, and she climbed in and quietly closed it.

_What the hell am I doing? Why am I hiding?_ She yelled at herself as she sat still, peering through the crack of the cabinet doors. The cabinet was completely desolate; nothing was inside of it, except for Serena.

Soon, she saw Darien as he walked to the bed and sat down, tiredly resting his elbows on his knees as he hunched over, looking like he was thinking of something. He only stayed for a second before he stood up again and took off his blazer, haphazardly throwing it onto the bed.

Then he disappeared from Serena's limited vision for awhile. While he was gone, Serena let out a silent breathe, having been holding it while he was in the room. _I'm an idiot… how am I gonna get out of this one?_

As she thought about a plan to escape without being caught, Darien walked back in the room, shirtless. He still had on his black trouser dress pants, but he looked absolutely incredible.

Serena's eyes widened as she pressed her face to the cabinet door, trying to get a better view of him. _I'm officially a pervert._

He disappeared from her view again, but only for a minute to turn on some music. When he was back, Frank Sinatra's voice began to serenade the room.

_I love you, I love you._

_It's all that I can say,_

_I love you, I love you,_

_The same old words I'm saying in the same old way._

Serena watched as he sat down at the edge of the bed again, leaning down to take off his shoes. She had a perfect profile view of him. She could see how his hair touched his eyelashes, and how his tanned, perfect body looked.

_I love you, I love you._

_Three words that are divine._

_And now my dear, I'm waitin' to hear_

_The words that will make you mine._

He stood up again as he started to unbuckle his belt, facing in her very direction without knowing it and giving her the optimum view of his flawless body. He had defined, sculpted eight pack abs, and the muscle line that v-ed down from his pelvis.

_Little girl, I love you._

_Can't you see I love you?_

_I love you, can't you see I love you?_

As Serena watched with unblinking eyes, she saw something drop down in front of her face. Her eyes slowly looked at it, and saw that it was a spider… a large, black spider. She gasped loudly and screamed as she threw open the cabinet doors and scrambled out quickly.

_I love you, I love you._

_Three words that are divine._

_And now, my dear, I'm waitin' to hear,_

_The words that make you mine._

She screamed as she flailed her hands, with the picture frame still in it, around her face.

Darien, startled, looked wide-eyed at Serena as she kept screaming and thrusting her hands about, eventually clumsily stumbling into him.

Once she felt strong arms wrap around her, she fell silent, her breathe coming out quick and short from being scared.

"Whoa," Darien said as she fell into his arms.

She was still for moment before she slowly turned around in his arms, blushing like mad as she looked into his questioning blue eyes.

"Um.. Serena," Darien began," Would you mind explaining yourself?"

Serena gulped as she took a step away from him, making him let go of her. She was still clutching onto his picture. "I-I… saw a spider," she answered lamely as she looked down at the ground. Her heart was beating so hard, she could hear it pulse in her eardrum.

Darien's eyebrows went up as he stared down at her, looking a tad-bit amused. She looked so cute, all frazzled by the bug, and her cheeks are flushed. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, some of it escaping the grasp of her hair tie, as it tumbled out around her face. "Yeah… but how, if I may ask, did you get in my room? And why were you in the cabinet?"

It was damn hard for her to think when she was so close to him… it was even harder since he was naked. _Half-_ naked. " Erm… I, uh, came to ask you a question," she said truthfully," but that's not important now. I… see that you're busy with… taking off your clothes," she said as she turned redder," so, um… I'll leave you," she finished as the thrusts the picture into his hand, and turned around to walk away from the extremely embarrassing situation.

"Whoa, wait a minute," he said as he put the picture down on his bed and took one step towards her," you're not getting away that easy," he said as he stopped her by grabbing her arm and turning her around to face him. "What did you want to ask me?" he questioned with an encouraging smile.

She glanced quickly up at him, then away. "It's not important," she repeated, feeling her stomach flip.

Darien took another step closer to her," No, ask me."

Serena couldn't help but throw quick, admiring glances at his body every so often. It was ridiculously hard to concentrate with him naked. _Half-naked_, she reminded herself again. " I don't want too…"

"Serena…," Darien said in a serious tone," Come on, just ask me. It was obviously important if you had to hide yourself in my cabinet."

"I was not hiding," she began to fight back before she caught his raised eyebrow. "Okay… fine, I was hiding, but it was just because I didn't want you to think I just came in here to snoop around," she said as she crossed her arms.

"Okay," Darien said as he crossed his own arms," then what did you come in for? To ask me a question, right? So ask it."

Serena frowned. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again and looked down at the ground once more. "Well you… at least, put on a shirt?"

Darien looked down at himself as if he had forgotten he didn't have a shirt on. "Does it bother you that much?" he asked, an amused grin slowly creeping onto his face.

Serena scowled. "Well.. I can't think when you're looking like… Will you just go put on a shirt?" she yelled. Was it just her, or was it getting extremely hot in the room?

"You can't think when I'm looking like what?" Darien pressed, now purposefully making her flustered.

She glared at him, and turned around again as she began stomping away.

"All right, all right! I'll go put on a shirt," he said as he rolled his eyes," but only if you promise to ask me the question," he gave her an ultimatum.

"Fine," she said as she stopped walking.

Darien shook his head, still smiling, as he walked into his bathroom and threw on the shirt he had on earlier. He came back out and quickly turned off the stereo before going over to Serena, who was now sitting on his bed.

"Well?" he asked as he stood before her.

Serena inhaled and exhaled before she said," I just wanted to ask you if you'd like to escort me to the Presidential Ball." She didn't look at him; instead she'd been staring at her hands.

Darien was quiet, looking a little surprised.

When Serena waited in silence for his answer, she began to feel regret. She looked up at him after a minute, and got up. "I knew I shouldn't have asked…. Just, forget it, okay?" she said as she walked around him, feeling her heart ache.

"I'll go with you," Darien suddenly said, making her freeze in her tracks.

"Don't go with me if you feel like you _have _too," she said as she turned around to look at him.

Darien looked at her with serious eyes. "I'm going with you, because I _want_ too, not because I feel like I _have_ too."

Serena seemed a little taken-aback by his answer, but also overwhelmingly happy. "Really?" she asked, looking unsure.

"Yes, really," Darien replied, a small smile touching his lips.

Serena blushed again. "Okay…."

Darien's smile broadened when he saw her begin to get shy. "Was that your only question?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," she said as she began to back away. "I'll just… see myself to the door now," she said as she walked away.

"Okay… see you later," Darien said, waving slightly.

Serena smiled and waved before running out the door, feeling like she'd just won the lottery.

-------------------------

_**The Diary of Serena Bryant**_

**_Still April 16, 2006 _**

_He said YES! Well… he said," I'll go with you," AND that he WANTED to go with me, not that he had too. _

_Oh… I made myself look like a complete lunatic though… I was hiding in his cabinet and I saw this massive spider drop down… but before I saw the spider, I got to see him without a shirt on. He has a model's body. I've seen his body about… three times now? Once at the photo shoot, once when he was 'teaching' me, and today. I wouldn't mind seeing the rest of him. _

_I can't believe I just said that. _

_Hmm… I wonder what I'm going to wear at the ball…_

_I have to google a dress! I'll write more later._

-----------------------------

Darien was watching the news around twelve, lying comfortably in the bed when his earpiece beeped. He frowned and as he pressed the mute button on the TV. Usually, no one would call in this late, but he always kept the earpiece in, just in case, until he was for sure going to sleep.

Darien reached for the microphone pin, which he kept by his nightstand. "Hello?" he spoke into it.

"I had a nightmare," he heard Serena's familiar sweet voice fill his ear. "I tried to sleep, I really did, but every time I close my eyes, it's like a flashback," she started explaining.

"Do you want me to come over?" Darien asked, sitting up in bed.

Serena paused for a moment before saying," Is it okay if I come over to you, instead?"

Darien furrowed his eyebrows," I don't know if that's a good idea, Serena. What happens if your parents check-up on you?"

"My parents haven't checked on me since I was thirteen," she said as he heard rustling, probably meaning she was climbing out of bed. "Please? I can't sleep."

Darien sighed as he gave in," Okay, fine. I'll leave the door open, I need to go put on a shirt," he said as he got out of bed. He usually only slept in boxers.

"Thank you," she said, sounding happy before she beeped out.

He got out of bed and opened the door quickly before grabbing a random shirt out of his drawer and throwing it on. It was a simple white t-shirt.

Serena soon came in, clutching a pink pillow. Her long hair was down, and her pajamas had bunnies on it. She looked innocently adorable as she padded in, wearing bunny slippers to match.

"Sorry for bothering you," she said, looking embarrassed. "I can leave if you want me too," she said as she started having doubts once she was seeing him face-to-face.

Darien shook his head," No, it's okay. You're already here," he said with a smile. "Come on, you can sleep in my bed, I'll sleep on my couch," he said as he gestured towards his bed.

Serena frowned as she shook her head furiously," No! You sleep on your bed, I can sleep on the couch. I'm already bothering you I don't want to take your bed too."

"You're not bothering me, Serena," Darien said as he walked to her and forcibly grabbed her to pull her to his bed. "I'll be fine on the couch. I'll be up for awhile anyway, so I'll just stay in my semi-living room area," he said as he pointed to where the couch and desk was.

Serena looked at him to make sure he was completely fine, before climbing in his bed, slipping out of her bunny slippers and pulling the blanket over her. She had school tomorrow so she had to make sure to wake up at the right time to get ready. "Do you have an alarm clock?" she asked once she tucked herself in.

Darien nodded as he walked to turn off the light where the bed was before walking over to the lighted "semi-living room" area to take a seat. "Yeah, don't worry, I'll wake up. I have to get ready also," he said as he reached grabbed a book by a desk and put on reading glasses.

_He looks good in glasses,_ Serena thought as she secretly watched him in the darkened room. She could see him fine from where she was at. "I didn't know you wore glasses," she commented as she watched him.

Darien looked up from his book and smiled," Yeah, only for reading though. Go to sleep, you have school tomorrow… and people to face," he reminded her.

Serena pouted at the thought of tomorrow. She'd have to talk to the person she dreaded most; Ethan. She'd turned off her cell phone the rest of the weekend because she knew her friends, including Ethan, would call.

Darien knew she was quiet because she was thinking about it. "Serena, you're not going anywhere near him, don't worry," he said as he looked at her outline.

"I don't want to go," she said quietly, to herself, but Darien heard her.

He put his book back down as he got up to walk over to her. When he was next to her, he leaned down so he could see her, making her look at him. "Nothing's going to happen, okay?" he said in a gentle voice. "I _promise_."

Serena stared at him and nodded.

Darien reached out and moved part of her bangs out of her eyes, and ran his finger lightly over her cheek, sending shocks of electricity through Serena. "Now, go to sleep," he whispered before leaving her side to take his seat on the couch again.

The place where Darien touched her on her cheek still tingled as she smiled to herself. She was still afraid of what tomorrow brought, but she knew if Darien was there, everything would be okay.

She closed her eyes and let sleep take her. This time she wasn't afraid of what she'd see, because all she could see, was Darien.


	13. Infuriating Feelings

**A.N**: Hi everyone! This past month has been crazy... I had midterms coming up, and my job is getting in the way of writing cause by the time I get home, I'm too tired to do anything!

I'm so sorry. Thank you for sticking with me.

I'm pretty sure some of you are getting impatient about the rated "M" part of the story, but it'll come eventually. I have to build it up to the scene; otherwise it will seem too rushed.

Okay! That's all! Thanks for the reviews!

And Happy LATE Thanksgiving!

-------------------------

Chapter 13: Infuriating Feelings

It was a beautiful morning as a black limousine pulled to a slow stop in front of an Academic high school. Inside the car sat an extremely nervous blonde headed girl who hadn't spoken a word since she stepped out of her huge home.

Serena didn't know what to expect today, or how she would handle anything. She was just going to take anything that would be thrown at her.

Darien watched her avidly as Serena chewed on her bottom lip, looking outside the window for the face that haunted her dreams. Sam sat on the same side as Serena but he was oblivious to everything, having jammed his earphones to listen to his I-pod.

Andrew glanced quickly at Darien and gave him a nod as Kyle opened the door for everyone to get out. Darien nodded back in return and climbed out of the car.

Serena was fumbling, suddenly feeling scared and anxious. Her heart started to speed up when she caught sight of their school, wishing today was over. She grabbed her bag and threw it over her shoulder as she climbed out of the car with the help of Darien. He smiled at her encouragingly and nodded. Serena faked a smile and drew in a deep breath of air before she walked towards the school.

As the four of them made their way onto school premises, Raye and Lita stopped Serena.

"Serena," Lita said in a serious tone, her face looking extremely worried and concerned. "What happened to you Saturday? You disappeared on us without telling anyone."

Raye's eyebrows arched up as she waited for an answer, her arms crossed sullenly. "You better have a good answer. Do you know how many times all of us tried calling you? And did you know what happened to Ethan? He got sent to the hospital and you weren't even there," she scolded.

Serena looked at the ground and bit her lip nervously, watching as Sam and Andrew walked by acting as if they weren't listening. Darien waited a few feet behind Serena to let her deal with her own friends. "Sorry guys... I just, wasn't... feeling very good," Serena lied.

Lita and Raye glanced at each other quickly. "And what about Ethan...?" Raye asked wonderingly. "Aren't you even going to ask about him?"

Serena shook her head," I already know what happened to him," Serena said as she began walking around her friends, wanting desperately to dodge explaining anything.

"You're not getting away _that_ easily, Serena," Raye said in annoyance as she stomped after Serena, her face screwed in frustration.

Serena's face hardened as she walked quicker," I do not want to talk about what happened Saturday, so could you all just _please_ drop the subject?"

Lita and Raye stopped walking after Serena and glanced at each other in confusion. They immediately knew something was wrong... or something went wrong.

"Serena," Lita said in a soothing, soft voice," Come on... tell us. We're you're best friends, you know you can trust us."

Serena spun around and looked guiltily at her friends. "I know I can trust you... but I'm not... ready to tell you yet. Can you understand?"

They paused a moment, but then nodded together. "We're here for you when you're ready to tell us," Raye pressed.

Serena smiled and nodded before walking off again, this time letting Lita and Raye be in sync with her. They changed the subject, making the air a little lighter.

Darien walked behind them with his hands shoved in his pockets. His eyes searched around for Ethan, but luckily he was nowhere to be seen.

As Darien looked around, his earphone beeped.

"Hey, it's Andrew. You see him yet?"

Darien moved his eyes again and shook his head as he answered," Nope, haven't seen him so far."

Andrew chuckled over the earphone," Dude, he's got a huge black eye, it's so hilarious."

Darien pictured Ethan with a black eye and smiled happily. "Well I'm surprised he'd show up to school. It might mar his reputation"

"How about you and I have a little talk with him at lunch?" Andrew suggested, his voice sounding coy and meticulous. "We can kidnap him while nobody's watching and talk to him one-on-one."

"Sounds like a good plan, only who's gonna watch the kids while we're threatening him?" Darien asked, still following behind the girls.

"It's not gonna take that long," Andrew tried to persuade.

Just as Darien was about to say something, Ethan finally walked into his vision. "We'll talk about it more at lunch. I see him now."

Serena had stopped in the middle of the hallway, tensing up when she saw Ethan. The first, and most obvious thing about Ethan, was his black eye. Not only that but it looked like a vessel had busted, making part of his left eye red as well. _I never hit him in the face..._ Serena caught herself wondering. Lita and Raye had paused with her as well, looking a little confused.

Darien moved quick and grabbed Serena's arm as he pulled her in the opposite direction of Ethan. "Come on," he muttered under his breathe.

Lita and Raye frowned as they watched Serena being pulled away from them. They shrugged and walked to their lockers, figuring they could just discuss it with Serena during lunch.

Ethan, however, saw Serena and his eyes squinted in jealousy as he watched Darien drag her away from him. When he woke up in the hospital he couldn't remember anything. All he knew was that his head was searing and thudding with immense pain and that his left eye was swollen shut. There were times when he'd remember bits and pieces... him being alone with Serena in a bathroom, and then him yelling at Serena out of rage. And from then on... nothing. He couldn't remember anything else. Ethan swiveled around on his feet and walked away. He'd talk to her eventually.

"Darien, let me go," Serena complained with an irritated voice. "I'm perfectly capable of handling him myself. He might need to be reminded that he and I are no longer together."

Darien rolled his eyes as he let go of her arm," Capable of handling him yourself," he repeated to himself.

Serena frowned," What... you don't think I can?"

"Look Serena, this isn't the time or place to be stubborn, all right? I'm just going to keep him away from you until things settle down a little," Darien explained, looking down at her with his intense blue eyes.

"Either way, I'm going to have to talk to him sooner or later. He doesn't know we're not 'together' anymore... he probably doesn't even remember what happened," Serena said loudly, throwing her arms in the air. "And... how did he get that black eye? I could have sworn I hit him over the head... not the eye," she said, more to herself then anything.

Darien immediately straightened up a little at the mention of Ethan's bruised eyeball. "Uh... I don't know. That's odd," he said.

"Yeah," Serena responded, not noticing Darien's lie," I mean, I was so frazzled, I could have hit him in the eye and not remembered..."

"Possibly," Darien mumbled as they entered her first hour.

Serena shrugged and dismissed the thought as she walked to her seat.

Soon, the bell rang, initiating the start of the day.

---------------------------

During lunch, Darien and Andrew sat at their usual separate table, occasionally throwing glances at Sam and Serena. They talked and joked around, feeling as though things were finally reverting back to normal.

At least they thought that until Ethan showed up in the cafeteria. Right as he stepped through the cafeteria doors, fashionably late, there was an immediate buzz throughout the sea of teenagers. Kids started whispering and starting rumors of what happened to him at the party.

Andrew turned his head and watched Ethan's every move. "So are we going to talk to him?"

Darien looked at Ethan as well as he walked past their table, ignoring them. "Let's just see what he does first... we'll talk to him if he makes a wrong move."

"Him being _alive_ is a wrong move," Andrew said as he shook his head disapprovingly. "You know... I blame the parents, seriously."

Darien chuckled lightly, never letting his gaze leave Ethan's form.

Across the cafeteria sat Serena and her usual group of friends. Mina had also given Serena a lecture, scolding Serena and telling her how worried she'd made her. Serena smiled and apologized, feeling her heart swell with affection for her friends. She only got the joy of feeling that for a couple of minutes before her nightmare walked through the doors of the cafeteria. Looking at him made her feel extremely uncomfortable and fidgety. Serena glanced quickly over at Darien who seemed to be staring daggers at Ethan. As if knowing she was looking at him, Darien's eyes quickly moved and caught hers, making her immobilized in one spot. He smiled at her, and then dropped his gaze as he turned towards Andrew and whispered something to him.

Serena realized, in the few seconds Darien looked at her, that she actually lived to see him smile at her. Her heart would skip a beat or two when he looked at her and her soul would melt every time he smiled.

Just as Serena was daydreaming about Darien, Serena felt a light tap on her shoulder. She snapped out of her reverie and turned to face none other then Ethan. Serena's eyes widened as she let out a small gasp.

Lita, Mina, and Raye all watched Serena intently.

_Something definitely happened_, Lita thought to herself.

"Hey... can we talk?" Ethan asked, looking into Serena's frightened eyes.

Serena glanced at her friends quickly and nodded hesitantly. "Um... sure," she answered as she stood up slowly.

Before Serena could even move around her friends, Darien was already right beside her, looking a little angry.

Ethan looked annoyed," Listen... bodyguard, I'd like to speak with her alone if you don't mind."

"Well, it so happens, I _do_ mind," Darien snapped, crossing his arms.

Ethan seemed a little taken-aback but glared and lead the way outside.

Serena made sure to fall a few steps back of Ethan so she could talk to Darien quickly. "Hey," Serena whispered, making sure Ethan didn't hear," I got this, don't worry. He's not going to do anything in public... and sober."

Darien looked down at Serena with stern eyes," That's not the point Serena... he's fucking scum and you're willing to talk to him?"

"I told you we'd have to speak eventually," Serena whispered angrily back. "Anyways, just give us a little space-"

"Remember what happened last time I gave you a _little_ space?" Darien cut her off, his pulse boiling underneath his skin.

Serena finally looked up at Darien and stopped, Ethan still walking a little ahead of them fuming. "Darien... I know you mean well, and Saturday was not your fault so let it go! Secondly, I brought my microphone with me so you can hear everything... okay?" she finished and walked again, quickly pinning on her snowflake microphone.

Darien frowned as he followed her again, still disliking the thought of them having 'space' between them so she could talk to some molester. When Ethan rounded a corner, Darien stopped at the other side and leaned against the wall tensely.

He heard the microphone beep, telling him that Serena had turned on hers.

"So," Darien heard Ethan's gruff voice," you never returned any of my calls."

" I had my cell phone off all weekend," Serena responded quickly.

There was a pause before Ethan spoke again," I don't remember anything that happened Saturday night."

"Of course you wouldn't," Serena drawled, sounding sarcastic and detached.

Ethan was quiet again before asking," I was in the hospital and you couldn't even come visit me?" he was starting to sound a little aggravated now.

"You wouldn't have been in the hospital if you hadn't drunk, or _touched_ me," Serena retaliated, her voice dropping low with anger.

Right as those words left her lips, Ethan's jaw line tightened, a muscle in his cheek jumping. "Well, I was drunk," he defended himself," You know I'd never hurt you-"

"Wrong," Serena cut him off," You _did_ hurt me. Look, I'm just going to make this simple for you, okay? You are _never_ to come close to me again and you are never going to speak to me again. And maybe, someday, I just might forgive you, but that's not going to be anytime soon."

"You're breaking up with me?" Ethan asked, sounding shocked and mad.

Serena's determined voice answered," Yes... I am breaking up with you, Ethan."

"No one," Ethan's voice said menacingly into the microphone," breaks up with me," he sneered.

"Let me go," Serena said through gritted teeth.

That was all Darien needed to quickly turn the corner and grab hold of Ethan, shoving him forcibly away from Serena. "Do not _touch_ her," Darien said dangerously.

Ethan had stumbled a little back but regained his balance, standing up straight as he watched Darien glare at him and turn away, grabbing for Serena's hand. _Oh... you're going to regret that... just wait._

-----------------------

Serena sat patiently as someone messed with her hair, pulling and twisting it into it's desirable place and pinning it. She was at another photo shoot and she'd be on the cover of Elle this time. She didn't mind pictures so much, she thought it could be fun sometimes, but today she was not in the mood.

The rest of the school day, Ethan was nowhere to be seen. _Probably got angry and left_, Serena figured.

Sitting in the chair, Serena could see Darien by the reflection of the mirror. He was leaning against the wall a couple of feet away from her. His left foot was propped up against the wall leisurely as he crossed his arms and looked around.

The hairdresser leaned over to Serena and whispered," All right sweetheart! You're done. Go get changed into your dress and the photographer will be right with you," the brunette lady said cheerfully.

Serena smiled and nodded as she got up. Her hair was in some kind of updo. The cover she was going to do was prom related, which wasn't going to come out until a couple more months. Half of her hair was pulled up and the rest was let down in soft curls. She had a small poof, and the rest was twisted in some fancy design. Her makeup was dark and sexy, but not overdoing it.

The dress that Serena put on was a classic champagne colored gown. It was long and bell shaped at the bottom, barely dusting the floor as she walked. It was strapless and hugged around her tiny waist perfectly, with lacy black bow that also went around her waist. Her jewelry was black to match with the black sash.

When Serena emerged from the dressing room, Darien was entranced. He was frozen in one spot, his eyes completely glued to her. A couple of people were buzzing around her to make sure everything was in place, so Serena wasn't paying any attention to Darien.

After a few minutes, Serena finally looked up and smiled at Darien. He found it hard to do anything at the moment, but he managed to smile back at her as he swallowed.

She walked towards him, her hands clasped together. When she got in front of him, she grinned and twirled around quickly for him to see. "What do you think?" she asked as she looked down at the dress.

"Um... I think," Darien said, finally snapping out of it," I think..."

Serena's eyebrows arched as she waited for him to answer. He seemed... nervous.

"I think," he said once more as he smiled and leaned towards her a little to whisper," you look beautiful."

Serena blushed and smiled, shyly taking her gaze away from him.

Before the two could say anything else to one another, the photographer ushered Serena away. She gave him an apologetic smile and waved as Darien bowed his head in response.

_Damn_, he thought as he watched her talk to the photographer. _She just HAS to be gorgeous_ _and completely off-limits_.

At first Serena posed and took pictures in a decorated "prom-like" room, and then a couple of minutes later, a male model came out to take pictures with her.

He was handsome in his tuxedo and perfectly gelled, dark brown hair. He had blue-green eyes and a nicely built body. His jaw-line was strong and his cheekbones were high... he definitely was a model.

Darien felt a twinge of jealousy as the guy walked up to Serena and introduced himself. Serena smiled sweetly and shook his hands and then laughed at something he said.

The photographer quickly spoke to the both of them, and soon, Serena had her arms around the guy's neck as he wrapped his around her waist. They looked at the camera and laughed at something the photographer said. Someone turned on the music and Serena and the guy began to sway as they talked to one another and the photographer circled around them to snap pictures.

Darien found himself frowning and clenching his fists as he watched the two whisper in close proximities. He didn't like it. Not one bit. What made it even more frustrating was he wasn't sure why.

----------------------------------

The ride home was quiet. Serena was back in her normal clothes, her makeup and hair was still all done up.

Darien was sitting on the opposite side of her and had been quiet since after the photo shoot. He was staring out the window, his right hand hovering over his mouth as if he was in deep thought.

Surprisingly, Serena had a good time today at the photo shoot. Nick, the male model, was very sweet and quite funny. At the end of the shoot, he came up to her and gave her his phone number. He was gorgeous, but to Serena, he still didn't compare to Darien.

Serena eyed Darien, wanting to know what he was thinking. "You're awfully quiet," she said aloud, tilting her head slightly.

Darien dropped his hand and shrugged," Just been a long day," he answered, letting his eyes get a hold of hers.

Serena nodded and didn't say anything else.

Their eyes were still set on each other's as silence began to settle again. Darien was the first to move his head and stare out the window again, ending the strange moment.

Serena looked down at her hand, feeling somewhat sad. It was like he was mad at her... but that didn't make any sense.

The limo eventually pulled into the White House premises.

Darien climbed out first and helped her out like he usually did. His face was unreadable and expressionless as they made their way inside the White house.

Once they were in her room, Darien paused just at the entry and said," I'll be in my room if you need anything... but I think it best if you stay in your own room tonight, and I in mine."

Serena felt as if someone had crushed her heart. She didn't understand why he was acting like this... she nodded slowly as she swallowed back the lump she felt forming in her throat.

"Goodnight," Darien said and left her.

---------------------------

It was around 9:15 when they got back to the White House.

On the ride home, Darien was trying to figure out his infuriating feelings. He had never let himself get too attached to any woman, and he was beginning to feel attached to Serena. He was beginning to have more than just 'strong' feelings for her, and he needed to stop it while he still could. His family and his future always came first, and Serena was beginning to get in the way of that.

He knew he couldn't let her sleep in his room, or he in hers. The temptation for him to simply kiss her while she was asleep was too strong, and the urge to touch her was too much. He had to end that charade tonight, so he did.

Or... at least he _tried_ too.


	14. Broken Heart

**A.N: **Sorry about the updates! Gah, it's just getting harder and harder for me to update! But don't worry, I'll finish the story. : D

I hope everyone will have a lovely Christmas and a wonderful New Year's!

Chapter's a little short, but I should have the next one up before New Year's hopefully.

Enjoy and comment!

Thank you!

------------------------

**Chapter 14: Broken Heart**

Serena lies in her bed tossing and turning restlessly. She couldn't go to sleep. Her heart wouldn't let her because her thoughts were stuck on a certain someone.

"_I'll be in my room if you need anything... but I think it best if you stay in your own room tonight, and I in mine."_

Was he angry with her? Why had he been so distant on the ride home? These questions were jut two of many that swirled in her mind like a destructive tornado. And now she couldn't sleep until she got the answers to her questions…

So there was only one thing she could do; and that was to get up and go ask him.

---------------------

Darien sat comfortably in his chair as he read The Count of Monte Cristo. He usually read whenever he couldn't sleep or was stressed. Books gave him a means of escape. He could instantly be transported into someone else's life, leaving all his problems behind for awhile as he read about someone else's problems. The only flaw of depending on books is that they end, and when a book ends you're back to your life, and back to having to deal and face your problems.

Something unexpected happened to Darien today. He noticed, for the first time, that he had feelings for a certain blonde headed girl. Not just feelings… _very strong_ feelings. At first he was attracted to her. Then attraction changed into him caring and worrying constantly about her… and then from there his feelings kept developing and now it was nearly out of his control.

Darien had his reading glasses on, perched nicely on top of his nose as he turned the page. As he started to read the next page, his door suddenly swung violently open, a few seconds later Serena came bounding in.

Darien's eyebrows knitted together in worry. He was about to ask her what was wrong when she said," Are you mad at me?"

Darien frowned and closed the book and set it quickly aside. "No… why would you think I'm mad at you?" he wondered as he stood up, wearing nothing but his pajama pants that clung dangerously low on his hips.

Serena's hair was in a messy bun, some strands escaping the grasp of her hair-band. She wore a plaid patterned pair of pj's and a regular sleeping tank-top. "Cause you were sort of being a jerk tonight," she replied.

"I was not being a jerk," Darien repeated as he glanced at the clock, which blinked 2: 32 AM at him. "Serena… it's late, go to bed."

Serena shook her head stubbornly. "Why did you say 'I think it best if you stay in your own room tonight, and I in mine' ?"

"Because I do think it best that you stay in your room and I in mine," Darien answered, sounding exasperated as he took his glasses off and ran a hand tiredly across his face. "Look… we can't be making a habit of this, Serena… it isn't right."

Serena frowned," Why isn't it right? We weren't doing anything," she stated.

"It's the ethics of it," Darien responded, looking at her with his piercing blue eyes," and how do you think your parents will react if they just happen to stumble in with you sleeping in my bed?"

"They can't think anything of it because we weren't DOING anything! Not to mention you're never in bed with me! You're always somewhere else," Serena pointed out, looking a little flustered. He looked dead sexy, but she couldn't be bothered by that right at this moment.

Darien sighed heavily and crossed his arms. "Just go back to your room before either of us do or say something we'll regret later on."

"If you're mad about me talking to Ethan-"

"I'm not," Darien cut in at the mention of Ethan's name.

Serena paused and took a step closer to him daringly. "Then what is it? You've never acted like this before," she said as she reached a hand out to touch him, only to have him take a step away from her.

Darien looked angrily at the ground as his breathing began to quicken. "Serena, get out."

His sudden movement away from her stung her, as well as his words. _He doesn't feel the same way_, her thoughts attacked her, leaving her vulnerable. Serena fell silent as she stared at him through sorrowful eyes.

Darien looked back up at her, his face hard and stern. His eyes met with hers and he could see that he'd hurt her. He fisted his hands and tightened his jaw to keep himself from moving.

"How silly of me," Serena whispered quietly as she dropped her gaze, feeling the tears start to brim under her eyes, "to think that you might actually have feelings for me." She brought her right hand up and wiped at her eyes before any visible tears could escape. She laughed weakly," I'm so stupid to think that you could like an eighteen year old girl… of course you wouldn't, I mean you couldn't right? I'm an annoying little girl who still goes to high school and has everything handed to her on a silver platter, right? You didn't feel anything when we kissed, did you?" She looked up at him, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

Darien stood silent and still.

Serena sniffed and looked back down from his expressionless face. "No you didn't," she answered the question herself. "You're the one that pulled away from me… just like you're doing now."

She stood for another moment of heart-breaking silence before she spun around to walk away, sobbing. _See what love does?_ Her conscious yelled, _it makes you cry for no reason, and it hurts! You have no one to blame but yourself._

"Serena, wait," Darien said, still pivoted to where he'd been standing and making her freeze. "You don't… want someone like me," he said quietly, staring intently at the ground, his fists still balled up tightly. "I'm… I'm not right for you. I'm selfish and narrow-minded… You deserve better then me."

She let out a sob and ran out of his room. Her world became blurry as the tears let itself take over her.

Serena had always wondered what a broken heart felt like. Now, she knew.

---------------

Darien collapsed on top of his bed, letting out an exhausted sigh as he felt the mattress envelope around him temporarily. _This never should have happened_, he thought to himself as he let his hands cover his face.

Did he want her?

_More then anything_.

Then why didn't he just tell her? Why didn't he just let himself be happy? Let _both_ of them be happy…

Because he was selfish and determined. Selfish because he cared more about his job then he did almost anything else; and determined that in a relationship, you set yourself up to fall. At least his job guaranteed that things would only get better, but in a relationship, you enter it blind. While his job promised success, a relationship split in two different paths; one ending in heartache and pain, and the other ending in marital bliss. It was a gamble, and no one knows for sure if they'll win the jackpot.

_This was not supposed to happen_, Darien thought again as he dropped his hands from his face and stared blankly at the ceiling.

That's the funny thing about love though. It's never "supposed" to happen, it just does.

------------------

Serena woke up the next morning feeling weak and exhausted, having spent most of the night crying in her pillow. Her mind immediately went to Darien. How was he going to act today? Like nothing had happened? If he acted like that, she didn't know if she could handle that…

There was a soft knock on the door, making Serena's thoughts scatter.

"Who is it?" she yelled tiredly, squeezing her pillow tightly.

"It's me," she heard Darien's voice come from behind the door.

Hearing his voice even hurt…

When Serena didn't respond, Darien said, "You're going to be late to school."

"I'm not going to school today," she answered.

"Oh, come on! You're going to have to see me eventually, I'm your bodyguard," Darien's voice said.

Serena frowned. "'Eventually' is the keyword! I don't have to see you today if I don't want too," she yelled.

"Don't be ridiculous," Darien grumbled.

"I can be ridiculous if I please," Serena argued back. "Now, leave me alone!"

Darien mumbled, "Fine," before falling silent.

Serena smiled to herself as if she'd won a game, but then quickly frowned when she remembered it was Darien. She huffed quietly and closed her eyes again, wanting the day to pass through sleep so she wouldn't have to think of him.

Suddenly, there was a click and her door swung wide open, revealing a nicely dressed Darien. He walked in leisurely and stuck a credit card in his pocket.

"The doors here are old," he said mostly to himself," not very hard to get open."

Serena shot up in bed, looking angry. "Get out of my room! That's breaking and entering," she yelled, pointing out the doorway.

"It's my job to watch you, so it doesn't matter," he responded cockily. "Now come on, go get dressed."

Serena glared at him then plopped back on her pillow, turning away from him.

Darien rolled his eyes as he shook his head. "Serena… seriously, you can't skip school because of me."

"Who said I'm skipping because of you? I happen to feel very sick," she inquired cheekily, still facing in the opposite direction.

Darien raised an eyebrow amusedly. She was obviously mad and hurt by him, but she still had her stubborn wit. "You seemed fine at two in the morning… it's only been about five hours since then."

"I can become sick in five hours," she replied nonchalantly.

"I'm going to ask nicely once more… now well you please get up and get ready to go to school?"

Serena stays quiet.

"All right… you asked for it," Darien shrugged. Before Serena knew what was going on, Darien swept her up and threw her over his shoulders.

"Whaaaaa," She wailed, "Put me down!" she screamed as she struggled around, flailing her arms and legs about and hitting him. "I have a RIGHT to not go to school! Darien!"

Darien held onto her legs firmly as he made his way into her large bathroom.

"Where are you taking me?" Serena yelled loudly as she tried desperately to wiggle out of his grasp.

Darien didn't say anything but he headed towards the shower. He opened the glass door, put her in it and turned on the water; cold, cold water.

Serena gasped as the freezing water pelted down at her. She got up quickly and jumped out of the shower, gasping as she started to shiver. She was drenched, and her breathing quickened due to her being so cold.

Darien looked at her and shrugged with a smug smile, "I asked nicely but you didn't want to listen."

Serena glared at him as her breathing slowed down, water dripping off of her hair and soaked pajamas. "I…. -breathes- hate -breathes some more-…. you," she said menacingly.

"Huh… that's funny," Darien said as he cocked his head to the side, "According to last night-"

"Shut-up," Serena said menacingly, looking up at him with searing eyes. "I should have never said those things last night. It was a mistake and in the spur of the moment, but at least I had enough balls to tell you how I felt.

"As of right now, you do not get to have the privilege of speaking to me, let alone taunt me. You have no right to make fun of what I said last night just because you don't reciprocate my feelings. Now get the hell out of my room because I am _not_ going to go to school today and you are the last person I want to see right now," she finished, her words cutting through Darien like a sharp knife; deep and painful. She stood shaking because of anger and because she was still dripping wet and cold. Her blonde hair looked darker wet as it plastered against her face and body.

Darien paused and took his gaze from her angry ones. He walked around her and quickly grabbed a towel that hung on the handle of the shower. He draped it around her shoulder as she stood still and shivering, waiting for him to leave.

"I never intended on hurting you, Serena," Darien whispered as he looked at the side of her face. "I'm sorry…" and with that he left her quietly to herself.

Once she knew he was gone, she fell to the floor and started weeping again.


	15. Lectures

**A.N:** Ok, so I lied about updating around New Year's…. I'm sorry!

I've rewrote this chapter like 5 times, I'm not even kidding! I have all these ideas in my head but it's so hard to get them all through on one chapter to where it makes sense.

I'm sorry! And thank you for being encouraging and loyal! And patient!

Hope everyone had a lovely, wonderful Christmas and New Year's!

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**Chapter 15**: Lectures

Serena stayed busy on her computer to try to get her mind off of Darien.

She felt horrible after he had left, getting angry with herself for yelling at him… she had no right to be angry just because he didn't return her feelings. She had acted like a child that didn't get the Barbie doll she wanted, and she hated that.

As she fumbled around online, her cell phone suddenly rang. She looked at it, wondering if she should pick it up or not, but then deciding to do so. As she glanced down at the flashing screen, she didn't recognize the number, so she answered with a frown.

"Hello?" she asked curiously into the phone.

"Ms. Serena Bryant?" Came a distinguished British voice.

"This is she," Serena replied, utterly confused.

"It's Nicholas," the voice said, sounding cheerful.

Serena smiled, remembering the model she had posed and danced with at the shoot just yesterday, "Nick!" she said surprised, "How did you get my number?"

"Oh, well I got a bit impatient with waiting for your phone call, so I asked my agent for yours," he chuckled embarrassedly over the phone.

Serena blushed timidly as she giggled. "I see."

"I'd like to know," His deep, gorgeous accent resonated, "If I'd get the pleasure of meeting you again soon, in the near future?"

"The pleasure is all yours," she replied happily. "When and what did you have in mind?"

He paused for a moment over the phone in thought. "When, I'm not quite sure…. I have a bloody packed schedule, but we could do whatever your lovely heart desires."

_Aww… he's sweet_, she thought inwardly. He definitely took her mind off Darien. For now. "We could compare schedules if you'd like," Serena thought as she went to her bag to pull out her agenda. She scribbled random things in there when she was bored, but she never really used it.

"Brilliant idea," he concurred.

They spent a little over an hour and a half on the phone before Serena heard a soft knock on the door, and told him she'd call him back later. He charmingly bided adieu, and hung up.

"Come in," Serena said loudly as she closed her phone and put it and the agenda off to the side as she spun around to look at the door expectantly.

Her petite mother walked through the door in a perfectly tailored black dress suite; her hair half-pinned up, letting the rest cascade down past her shoulders.

"Hey mom," Serena said with a smile.

Irene smiled as she reached her daughter. "What's with you not going to school today?" she immediately went into the issue.

Serena shrugged a she rested her hands in her lap delicately. "Just didn't feel like going today."

Irene nodded. "Just one of those days, huh?" she asked as she sat at the edge of Serena's bed to face her.

Serena smiled and nodded in response, but kept quiet.

Her mother waited for a moment, but when no other explanation escaped her lips, she began to talk. "Honey, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"Of course," Serena replied.

"Okay," her mother said as she tilted her head. "I may be busy, but I'm never too busy for you or Sam."

Serena smiled affectionately at her mother. "I know, mom."

Irene wanted more than anything for her daughter to confide in her with her secrets, but she knew that would never happen entirely. She knew all to well what it was like to be a teenager.

She waited for Serena to say something, anything else… but when she didn't. She smiled lovingly at her daughter and got up. "All right, then. You know where I am if you need me," she said in defeat as she began to walk away.

Serena looked after her. "Mom…. "

Irene turned back around and looked at her daughter curiously. "Yes?"

"What do I do…. If I like someone, and they don't like me back… but then another guy comes along and likes me, even if I'm not over the other guy yet?" Serena blurted.

Irene smiled. "Boys," she said as her eyebrows went up. "Of course. Well… all I can tell you is to follow your heart. Your heart never fails," she winked.

Serena grinned, "Thanks, mom."

Her mother returned her grin and turned to walk back out again. When she was at the door, she paused and looked quickly at Serena. "Oh, and sweetheart… I know who he is."

"What?" Serena asked, her eyes going wide as her heart began to thump in her chest. "W-who, mom?"

"You know who," her mother said as she wiggled her eyebrows teasingly, and walked away.

_Oh my God… she knows…_

----------------

"Mom?" Darien said as he entered the house he grew up in, closing and locking the door.

"Darien?" he heard his mother's voice from the kitchen.

As he was about to make his way there, she popped out from behind the door. "Sweetheart," she said in surprise, a happy twinkle in her eyes as she came up to him to give him a hug. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be working today," she said as she gave him a squeeze.

"Serena decided to not go today," he explained as they parted, Paula quickly leaving him to run back into the kitchen.

"I'm making apple pie," she said joyously over her shoulder. "It just got done. I'll let it cool off a bit and we'll have a bite," she said happily.

He nodded as he took his usual seat at the table. He took off his blazer and placed it on the chair next to him. He still wore his earpiece and microphone with him, just in case.

"Now," Paula said as she wore her mittens to take the hot apple pie out of the oven, "What have you been up to?"

He smiled at his mother. "Nothing, just work. I stopped by to visit dad for a bit, and then came here."

She nodded, "That's good. I walked up there earlier today to give him fresh flowers," she confessed with a smile.

"You walked? Mom… that's a far walk, you shouldn' t-"

"Oh, you hush," she said as she waved a hand in front of her, "I am perfectly fine walking to and from the cemetery. It's good exercise," she lectured.

He chuckled heartily as he shook his head in disbelief.

She watched as he laughed, taking her son in and noticing how much he's changed, and how much he looked like his father.

When he noticed her staring at him, he suddenly frowned in worry. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied with a simple smile. "Just looking at you," she said as she reached a hand out to pat his cheek tenderly. "You look so much like your father."

He smiled, knowing how much she still missed him.

She kept her hand there, looking at him through loving eyes, until she remembered something else. "Oh! How's Serena? How is she doing?"

At the mention of Serena's name, he immediately looked down. "She's good," he answered quickly.

Paula squinted at her son, knowing there was something more to the story. She could read him like an open book; there was no use in him lying. "And?" she added for him.

He looked at her and sighed. "And nothing, mom," he said tiredly.

She shook her head at him. "You two had a fight or something?"

"No," he lied, "Why would we fight?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "That's why I was asking."

After about thirty minutes of more questions and interrogation, Darien finally bursts. She knew he would, it only took time.

"I don't know what to do," he admitted.

She smiled as she got up, walking over to her apple pie to cut it.

"No suggestions or advice?" Darien asked when she didn't say anything.

She cut the pie and put it on a plate and walked it over to him. "I can only voice what I think, Darien… but when it comes down to it, it's all up to you. When it comes to matters of the heart, you can't take anybody's advice but your own. The only thing I'll say is it's not that hard to get a job, nor succeed in it… but it's hard to find love and receive it."

-----------------

Ken sat behind his desk and buried himself in ceaseless amounts of paperwork and contracts. His spectacles sat low on his nose as he peered through them and concentrated on reading every sentence on every paper, making sure he didn't skip a single thing. It was about five in the afternoon and the sun was slowly beginning to set.

As Ken signed something and set it aside, his office door swung open, and in walked his daughter. He looked at her surprised and took off his glasses.

"Serena," he greeted as he leaned back in his chair.

She smiled and walked over towards his desk and sat down facing opposite of him. "Hey, dad. What are you doing?" she asked curiously as she looked at all the different paperwork that covered his entire desk top.

He sighed tiredly and ran a hand over his face, "Just work, sweetheart."

She nodded and looked at him tenderly. "You're tired, aren't you?" she said quietly.

He smiled and sat back up in his chair as he rested his arm on his desk, intertwining his fingers together. "Always," he replied honestly. "So, Agent Shields tells me you didn't feel like going to school today," he said as he cast his gaze towards her accusingly.

"I didn't feel like it," Serena responded, resting her hands in her lap.

"So whenever you don't 'feel' like doing something, you're just not going to do it?" Ken asked, his tone switching into lecture mode.

Serena frowned, "No… I just had a really bad day yesterday."

Ken exhaled loudly and shook his head. "I have bad days almost everyday, Serena. You don't see me resigning."

"I know," she mumbled as she looked down guiltily. "But it also wouldn't hurt if you took a week or two off to just rest either."

"You know I want too," he said softly. "I don't have a week or two to spare right now. If I were to take a break right now, it would set everything back and make things more difficult than it already is," he explained.

Serena looked back up at her father, sympathizing for him. It just wasn't fair… she hated that he worked so hard and seemed to get so little from it.

"Don't worry about me," he said when he saw her crestfallen face. "Just worry about yourself right now. This is your senior year, Serena; enjoy it while you still can."

She smiled and nodded reassuringly. "I will," she promised.

He smiled as he picked up his glasses and set it back upon his nose. "I'll see you at dinner. I have a lot of work to do and I'm not even close to being finished," he huffed as he looked around his desk in exhausted defeat.

Serena began to get up, "Okay. I'll see you later, dad. Love you," she said as she walked around the desk and kissed him quickly on his forehead before leaving her father to his never-ending pile of work.

-------------------

As Serena walked back towards her room, she walked slowly, taking her time to admire the history behind the walls of the White House; it's marbled perfection and brightly lit hallways.

She rarely ever appreciated living in the infamous and grandeur White House, but she knew she should.

As she walked, she saw Darien eventually, a couple of paces in front of her, not noticing her at all.

"Darien," she said aloud, making him turn around and look at her in surprise.

"Serena," he said as he looked at her curiously.

She paused where she was and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I want to apologize for earlier… it was completely-"

"No," he cut in, "You had every right to be angry with me."

She bit her bottom lip and released it nervously. "But I didn't have any right to yell at you because you don't return my feelings," she fixed.

_But I do…_ he wanted to say, but couldn't will himself to do so.

"But while we're here, I'd like to speak with you about the Presidential Ball," she said as she brought her blue eyes up to look into his, "You don't have to escort me anymore, Nick will."

Darien was a little taken aback, "Oh…" he said quietly. "Nick…"

"Nick Poynter… he was the model I worked with yesterday. But anyways, he can escort me, you don't have too," Serena said again.

Darien nodded, as he looked at her with unreadable eyes.

She forced herself to smile. "But that's all. I'm gonna go see what's up with Sam, so I'll see you later," she waved as she walked away from him.

Darien watched her go, and then turned his head to look down at the ground, clenching his fists.

It was his fault…. He had no one else to blame, but himself.

----------------

When Serena reached Sam's room, she knocked softly as she heard music blaring in his room through the door. She smiled to herself, knowing Sam rarely did anything without music. If he didn't have it blaring for the public to hear, he'd have his earphones on and connected to his I-Pod.

She knocked again, but figured he couldn't hear her, so she opened the door and peeked inside.

He sat on the ground, his legs spread open as a book was sprawled out in the middle, paper lying on the ground everywhere. He had one hand on the ground as the other one rested on his head in thought. His pencil balanced between his lips as he frowned at something he was reading on his worksheet. He had on a pair of black-rimmed reading glasses, which only added to his appeal.

Serena walked in, and when he noticed her, he parted his lips, letting the pencil fall haphazardly on the ground, smiling up at her.

"Hey," he practically yelled over the music.

Serena grinned, "Hi… you wanna turn down the music?" She pointed at the stereo.

He frowned in confusion, but then understood, quickly hopping up and going to turn down the music.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said as he walked back towards his mess of homework.

Serena shrugged as she bent down to look at his paper. "What are you working on?"

He took his seat on the floor again and made an annoyed face. "APUSH… AP U.S History… it's kicking my ass," he mumbled, running a hand through his messed up blonde hair.

Sam usually always did his homework on the ground, he felt he had unlimited space. Working at his desk felt too much like… detention.

Serena laughed, taking a seat next to him on the ground and picking up a paper. "I had this class. I'll help you," she said as she picked up a pencil.

As she began jotting down things on the paper she knew, Sam watched her with a smile. It's not often that they got to spend brother-sister time with one another anymore. They went to school together in the same car, but then they always parted their separate ways once they got on school premises, and after school was a whole different story; they had to head to photo shoots and interviews separately.

After awhile, Serena stopped and looked at him. "You know… I said I'd help, I didn't say I'd do ALL of it for you," she joked, making him laugh as he picked up a pencil and began to work with her.

-------------------

Darien sat on the edge of his bed, looking at the photo he cherished; his family photo with his father.

He could think of, literally, nothing but Serena. Especially after the encounter a couple of minutes ago.

Nick was going to escort her to the ball now… and where did that leave Darien? In a corner, watching them with envious eyes.

Darien sighed as he looked away from the photo.

"…_it's hard to find love, and receive it,"_ His mother's word echoed in his mind.


End file.
